The Minister of the Presidency admitted today that the proposed Foreigners Law could still undergo changes before Tuesday's vote in parliament and accused Chega of "mixing up issues"
António Leitão Amaro participated in the fifth meeting of the National Council for Migration and Asylum, which took place in Lisbon, where he presented the new proposal to amend the Foreigners Law and admitted, in statements to journalists, that "the law that will be voted on tomorrow [Tuesday] does not have to be exactly the same as the proposal that was submitted last Wednesday".
"What is happening is a dialogue between the different parliamentary groups, and it is normal that, in the context of the dialogue, all parties express their opinions on these laws," said the Minister of the Presidency, adding that "it is part of the process that there may be adjustments."
Leitão Amaro stressed the need for serious dialogue and said he believes that by Tuesday morning, "the parties may have some sense of wanting to contribute to the solution of regulating immigration, including Chega, including the PS."
Shortly before the end of the National Council for Migration and Asylum meeting, Chega leader André Ventura set a condition for reaching an agreement regarding the Foreigners' Law: making it mandatory for foreigners to contribute for five years to obtain social benefits.
"I appeal to the Prime Minister on this extremely sensitive point. Does he agree or disagree that immigrants arriving in Portugal must have at least five years of contributions before they can apply for Social Security benefits?" he asked. And he warned: "If you don't agree, we have no agreement. Because, for us, this is a decisive point."
On the government side, Leitão Amaro argued that this requirement is unrelated to the Foreigners' Law. "If someone wants to talk about unrelated issues, they can just mix things up. But that doesn't contribute to any solution," adding that mixing issues is "trying to excuse yourself and get out" of the debate.
The new proposed amendment to the Foreigners Law, presented last week, maintains the two-year period of valid residence to request family reunification, but allows for several exceptions, including for spouses.