The news was shared with Lusa by former Left Bloc MP José Soeiro at the end of a meeting held on Tuesday in Porto with immigrants from various countries to try to gather as many people as possible for the demonstration.

According to José Soeiro, the choice of the 17th is due to the fact that on that date "plenary work resumed in the Assembly of the Republic," and on the deputies' agenda is the resumption of "the debate on the immigration law and the nationality law," two bills "returned to the Assembly of the Republic due to the Constitutional Court's rejection."

"And it is important that on that day, when this discussion begins, it takes into account the voices of thousands of immigrants who are mobilising in the Algarve, Odemira, Lisbon, and Porto to be in front of Parliament on the 17th at 2 p.m.," explained the former deputy, who spoke as a member of the Immigrant Solidarity Association.

Regarding the "80 immigrants detained by order of the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) for registering passages in other countries before arriving in Portugal and not for having committed any crime," José Soeiro emphasized. The deputy accused the government of "spending a lot of money on the penal system on repressive policies against immigrant workers, building detention centers," emphasizing that "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, in place to enforce the law that is not being respected, to guarantee the regularization of immigrants who have already been paying taxes here for two, three, or four years," he insisted.

As part of the demonstration, a delegation of eight immigrants, representing the four origins from which they are working in Portugal, intends to deliver a document to the President of the Assembly of the Republic containing the demands underlying the protest.

The organization is led by the Immigrant Solidarity Association and the immigrant collective that organized the last protest in July in front of the Temporary Settlement Center in Porto.

The immigrants are demanding the right to documents, family reunification, the release of immigrants detained in temporary settlement centers without having committed any crime, as well as respect, dignity, and justice.