Portugal is ‘open-air prison’ for migrants

The head of Portugal's largest immigrant association warned on Monday that the country has effectively become an "open-air prison" for thousands of migrants trapped in legal limbo and under constant threat of deportation.Speaking on the one-year anniversary of Portugal's tightened immigration policies, Timóteo Macedo, president of Solidariedade Imigrante (Immigrant Solidarity), issued a bleak assessment of the current migration landscape.

"We are in a state of panic, a state of despair, for thousands of migrants living under threat of expulsion," Macedo told the Portuguese news agency Lusa.He argued that the growing sense of fear is fueling criminal networks and allowing exploitative actors to thrive, particularly under programs like the so-called Green Lane for Immigration, which he says has become a profiteering tool rather than a genuine solution.Macedo criticized the government for failing to deliver on basic administrative services, such as renewing residency documents, leaving many migrants unable to travel or bring family members to Portugal.

"Today, Portugal has extremely severe policies toward migrants," he said, accusing authorities of showing "no will to improve public services" for the foreign population.

Once celebrated for having some of the European Union's most progressive immigration laws, Portugal has reversed course over the past year. In 2023, the government unveiled an Action Plan for Migration featuring 41 restrictive measures, including the elimination of a path to legal residency through employment and social security contributions—a system in place since 2017.The shift in policy marks a significant change in tone and approach. Between 2017 and 2024, Portugal's foreign-born population surged from 420,000 to 1.6 million, according to the Agency for Integration, Migration, and Asylum (AIMA). However, after the new rules were implemented, the number of migrants seeking residence fell by 59%.

Antonio Leitão Amaro, Portugal's conservative Minister for Internal Administration, described the population surge as "the biggest demographic change" in national history and blamed the previous Socialist-led government for what he called "irresponsible, uncontrolled immigration." But Macedo countered that restricting legal avenues doesn't stop migration—it only pushes it underground.

"People will never stop fighting for their lives. They will enter in other ways," he said. "The absence of legal pathways feeds exploitation and modern slavery."

He also warned that the policies introduced by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro's center-right government have primarily "benefited the far right," pointing to the recent May elections, where the far-right party Chega became the country's main opposition force for the first time.