“What the Government intends to do is to tighten the rules further, to further limit the possibilities that are open today, but it is not to suspend the possibility of family reunification for immigrants”, he said.

Luís Montenegro made this statement in response to Chega leader André Ventura, in the first round of requests for clarification in the debate on the Government's program, in the Assembly of the Republic.

The Prime Minister argued that “integrated and well-integrated immigrant families”, as well as “immigrant students, are good for the economy, they are good for the country’s development”, countering that “what is bad” is the presence of illegal immigrants in the country, when there is a “lack of rules” and an “inability to enforce the rules”.

“That is why we are going to present amendments to the nationality law, to the law on foreigners and we are going to allow Chega to correct the mistake of having made it impossible to streamline repatriation procedures and the creation of foreign and border units in the Public Security Police. We are going to give Chega a second chance, Chega came in second place, it deserves a second chance to redeem itself for this great sin”, he stated.

Family reunification

In the request for clarification, the president of Chega directly asked the Prime Minister whether the Government “will or will not prevent or suspend family reunification”.

“He said he found a lack of control over migration. That’s right, it’s the fault of those gentlemen who are there, but now we can’t do much other than control and reverse it.

Arguing that “it’s not enough to come here and say [that you’re] going to try to stop it,” André Ventura questioned what will be done to prevent family reunification.

“Are we going to do like Austria and suspend family reunification? Or are we just going to pretend that we’re going to do it to please the Socialist Party and keep people coming in and people coming in and people coming in and people coming in and people coming in and people coming in and people coming in and people coming in and people going”.