Blames Portuguese government for “not taking issue seriously”
The official counsellor for Portuguese communities for Washington DC, Mário Francisco Ferreira, has described as “regrettable” what he sees as a lack of response and guidance from the Portuguese government in the face of President Donald Trump’s (long announced) plans for the mass deportation of illegal immigrants.
Mário Francisco Ferreira, better known as ‘Frank Ferreira’ has told Lusa, that “It is unacceptable that the Portuguese government is not taking this issue with the seriousness it deserves (…) Even more regrettable is the fact that [we have] asked for guidance from the prime minister’s chief of staff, the Portuguese ambassador and the secretary for Portuguese communities and… received nothing.”
As a member of the Council of Portuguese Communities (CCP) – the government’s statutory advisory body on emigration – Mr Ferreira questioned various Portuguese authorities about the “guidelines and plans of the Portuguese government” for the possible repatriation of nationals, asking if the embassy and consulates in the US will have a hotline for emergencies, what support would be available for families that may be separated by deportations, and what role counsellors such as himself might have in this process.
Despite the various questions – which he considers “urgent” – there has been no response.
“All I know is thanks to the Portuguese press,” he said in comments to Lusa.
“The point is that the Portuguese government is inattentive and doesn’t respond to its counsellors (…) Why have a Council” if this is the way they behave?
On Monday, Donald Trump repeated his much voiced pledge of the long election campaign to expel “millions and millions” of illegal immigrants in the “largest mass deportation in history”.
There are certainly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US, according to Department of Homeland Security estimates from 2022 – the most recent year with available data – although Mr Trump has claimed that the real number is “around double that”.
Portugal’s minister for foreign affairs, Paulo Rangel, said earlier this week that deportations of Portuguese nationals in an irregular situation in the US are not expected to have “a notable impact” and that the government “is prepared” and working in conjunction with the government of the Azores region, from where most Portuguese in the US originally hail.
The Azores government, in turn, is preparing a contingency plan to welcome immigrants to the US who might be deported by Trump.
Socialist MP José Luís Carneiro – himself a former secretary of state for Portuguese communities abroad – said that the measure announced by the new US president could affect 3,600 Portuguese; Portugal, along with China and Spain, is one of the three countries with the most “overstayers” – that is people who travel to the US on the understanding that they will stay no more than 90 days but stay longer.
The US deported 69 Portuguese nationals in 2024 – nine more than the previous year, according to the annual report from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
According to the report, 101 Portuguese nationals were deported in 2019, 47 in 2020, 28 in 2021, 33 in 2022 and 60 in 2023.
ICE is responsible for the detention and deportation of foreigners considered harmful to the security of US communities or who violate immigration laws.
Source material: LUSA
