In an interview with Lusa news agency, when he completes one year as the head of the CVP, António Saraiva said that the growth trend in requests for support continues and revealed that in the last three years, support for homeless people and victims of domestic violence is what has increased the most.

Specifically in relation to the phenomenon of homelessness, he cited as an explanation, the generalised increase in the cost of living, which has resulted in some families no longer being able to pay all their expenses.

“This has caught up some of the most disadvantaged population groups, to which, in my opinion, a significant number of refugees are added because there is no economic immigration policy as there should be”, he argued.

In António Saraiva’s opinion, “there is an opening in an excessive perspective”.

“We ended up finding a group of people on the street that we need to assist and help with their integration or, at least, with their placement in more dignified places”, he said, giving as an example the work that the Red Cross has been doing together with the Lisbon City Council in directing homeless people who are living in the Anjos area.

According to the president of the CVP, there are currently “a number of people living on the streets that were not so large before”, either because of situations of social vulnerability or cases of “refugees deceived by employers”.

For António Saraiva, it is clear that “Portugal without immigration closes”, but, at the same time as he defended the need for immigration, he also supported economic immigration policies, aimed “fundamentally at those who have enlightened situations”.

“An immigration policy at its origins, with campaigns”, he pointed out, recalling a job fair held in Cape Verde, still during the government of António Costa, with a view to “attracting workers with conditions and guaranteed employment”.

He criticised that this policy ended “abruptly”, pointing out that this type of measure needed transition time and that its end was the reason for the need for “rules that necessarily have to be tightened”.

He also said he believes that there should be clear rules and criteria, “that everyone knows and that everyone complies with”, which are duly publicised both for those who come and for those who welcome them.