The call is going out over social media: immigrants are being encouraged to demonstrate en-masse in front of parliament at 2pm on Wednesday, September 17, to demand “the right to documents, family reunification, the release of immigrants detained in temporary accommodation centres without having committed any crimes, as well as respect, dignity and justice”.
Various posts on Solidariedade Imigrante social media pages attest to what immigrants see as ‘illegalities’ practised by AIMA (the agency for integration, migrations and asylum) and the government itself.
Backed by left wingers from Bloco de Esquerda, the protest has been timed to coincide with the return of normal parliamentary business following the summer break, and the resumption of debates on amendments proposed to tighten laws on immigration.
It also comes “at a time when 80 immigrants are being held in a temporary installation centre in Portugal” when they have not committed any crimes, according to former Bloco de Esquerda MP José Soeiro.
Mr Soeiro claims the 80 are being held (against their wills) “by order of AIMA for registering passages in other countries before arriving in Portugal”.
Soeiro also accuses the current government of “spending a lot of money in the penal state on repressive policies against immigrant workers, building detention centers (…) the state is using PRR funds that should be for housing to build detention centers for immigrant workers“.
“The state should be using this money to put public services, namely AIMA, into operation to respect the law that is not being respected, to guarantee the regularisation of immigrants who have already been paying deductions here for two, three, four years,” the former MP told Lusa.
As part of next week’s demo, a delegation of eight immigrants intends to deliver a document to the parliamentary speaker containing all the demands that are the basis of the protest, organised principally by Associação Solidariedade Imigrante, with the backing of an immigrant collective that has previously organised protests in Porto.
Sources: LUSA/ Facebook groups
