The President of the Republic, António José Seguro, enacted on Monday, August 31, the Parliament's decree on granting asylum, detention, and return of foreigners. This decision came following a ruling by the Constitutional Court on Friday that declared the decree's provisions not unconstitutional.
The head of State had previously requested preventive review of the constitutionality of some provisions of the law, expressing well-founded doubts about whether the best interests of the child were safeguarded and whether the proportionality of the duration of deprivation of liberty of foreign citizens who committed no crime, by administrative decision, was guaranteed.
The Constitutional Court ruled the provisions in question not unconstitutional, also clarifying interpretive doubts, in terms that serve as guidance for courts and administrative authorities, particularly regarding the expulsion of children born in Portugal, the possibility of separation of parents and children, and the expulsion of refugees deserving international protection.
The President of the Republic recalled that, although reforms in these matters are desirable, they must be carried out with legal certainty and in compliance with the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic and the international instruments in force.
