The Public Security Police warned of an increase in the number of irregular immigrants arriving in Portugal by bus and train, with a focus on the Lisbon and Porto metropolitan areas. The national deputy director of the PSP and head of the National Borders and Foreigners Unit, superintendent João Ribeiro, revealed in an interview with the Portuguese news agency that these citizens travel from other European Union member states, taking advantage of the free movement of the Schengen area after unsuccessful attempts at regularization in other European countries.
According to the authorities, the primary intention is not to remain in Portugal, but rather a brief passage to other destinations such as Scandinavia, Poland, the Netherlands, or Germany. João Ribeiro explained that many of these citizens have already passed through countries such as France, Belgium, or the Netherlands, where they failed to obtain valid documentation, eventually moving to the Iberian Peninsula through secondary movements that have been continuously increasing.
The PSP also states that there is coordination between land and air controls, with some citizens using national airports as a departure platform to destinations such as Ireland, or arriving by air with the aim of continuing to Northern Europe. The main bus terminals and railway stations constitute strategic points where security forces operate a mobile control model based on technical criteria and risk assessment.
Faced with criticism from migrant associations who accused the new police unit of promoting disproportionate actions, João Ribeiro rejected any persecutory posture, guaranteeing that the device operates based on technical criteria and not an indiscriminate "hunt." The PSP ensures that surveillance on road and rail axes will be maintained in the coming months to monitor irregular migratory flows.
