How should Portugal deal with immigration?
Just under a month before the early parliamentary elections on 18 May, the conservative Portuguese minority government has presented new figures pointing to a significant increase in immigration, with immigrants currently making up around 15 percent of the population. Commentators caution against an instrumentalisation of the issue.
Not just a national phenomenon
Público warns against communicating the national figures in an unreflected and incoherent manner:
“Since immigration is increasing everywhere in the rich world, it is to be expected that it will also increase in Portugal and other countries. ... This doesn't mean that immigration isn't a problem. Immigration is a serious political challenge. But firstly, it has existed since the world existed. Secondly, it makes no sense to claim that we are an anomaly. And thirdly, it makes even less sense to ignore the global trend.”
Good that our country is still attractive
Without immigrants Portugal would have a real problem, Jornal de Notícias stresses:
“The far right never misses an opportunity to link the foreign population with phenomena such as crime using more or less absurd arguments. ... It was the same when we learned at the beginning of the week that 1.6 million immigrants live in the country. ... This surprisingly high figure, combined with the fact that there is practically no unemployment, means that not only can the country not grow without immigrants, it needs even more. It would be dramatic if Portugal suddenly became unattractive to foreign labour, because that will only happen if unemployment rises or the economy falters.”
Cheap labour being wasted
A country that wants to attract immigrants must provide decent conditions, says Eco:
“The immigrants were 'cannon fodder' for our economy and nobody really cared under what conditions they came or whether they remained without papers. What mattered was that they were used for work that the Portuguese didn't want to do. They also helped to finance the pension system. ... Immigration on this scale and at this time is a brutal social shock. ... It is neither serious nor decent to take in all immigrants solely for our economic benefit, to finance our social welfare system when we don't have a state that is willing to take them in.”