DE-SECURITIZATION OF THE IMMIGRATION POLICY IN PORTUGAL: SEPARATION BETWEEN MIGRATION MANAGEMENT AND INTERNAL SECURITY

Authors

  • CONSTANÇA URBANO DE SOUSA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26619/1647-7251.15.2.2

Keywords:

Immigration and Borders Service, Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum, de securitization of migration policy

Abstract

The extinction of the Foreigners and Borders Service (Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras - SEF) on 29 October 2023 and the subsequent transfer of its responsibilities for managing immigration and asylum procedures to the newly established Agency for Integration, Migration, and Asylum (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo – AIMA), marked a significant shift in Portugal’s migration policy. This institutional reform represents the culmination of a process aimed at de-securitising the state’s approach to international migration by distinctly separating migration management from internal security considerations. From October 2023 onwards, the management of migratory flows is no longer a police function, with the documentation of immigrants being entrusted to a purely administrative agency. To comprehend the implications of this reform, it is essential to examine both the evolution of Portuguese immigration policy and the unique characteristics of SEF. The first section of this article explores the general evolution of immigration policy in Portugal, characterised by the country's transformation in the 1990s into a significant destination for diverse migratory flows. The second section provides an overview of the now defunct Immigration and Borders Service. Finally, the article discusses the rationale behind its dissolution and the replacement of its functions in immigration and asylum management by an administrative (non-police) agency that has also inherited the integration and anti discrimination responsibilities of the High Commission for Migration.

Author Biography

CONSTANÇA URBANO DE SOUSA

She has a law degree from the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra, a postgraduate degree in European Law and a PhD in Law from the University of Saarland, Germany. She is an Associate Professor at the Law Department of the Autonomous University of Lisbon, an Integrated Researcher at Ratio Legis and a Collaborator at OBSERVARE (Portugal). Since 1999, she has been a member of the Odysseus Network - Acedemic Network for Legal Studies on Immigration and Asylum in Europe (Free University of Brussels). She is the coordinator and Professor of the Postgraduate Programme in Migration Law. She is the author of a vast bibliography on immigration and asylum law and the European Union's area of freedom, security and justice. She is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of SIRP. She was an Invited Associate Professor at the Higher Institute of Police Sciences and Internal Security (1998-2015) and at the Faculty of Law of Universidade Nova de Lisboa (2004-2006, 2018-2020), where she taught European Immigration and Asylum Law. Between 2006 and 2012 she was Senior Technical Counsellor at the Portuguese Permanent Representation to the EU (REPER), responsible for coordinating the Justice and Home Affairs section. She was Minister of Internal Administration in the XXI Government, a member of the Portuguese Parliament (XIII and XIV Legislatures) and a member of the Human Rights Committee of the Members of the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU).

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Published

2024-11-27

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 2 (2024): Novembro 2024-Abril 2025

Section

ARTICLES