Portuguese authorities have rejected 34 of the 38 asylum requests from the group of Moroccan migrants who disembarked in the Algarve on August 8th.
See previous article: https://algarvedailynews.com/news/25827-authorities-step-up-coastal-surveillance-after-migrants-land-at-boca-do-rio-beach
According to the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) the authorities considered the requests, made by adults and minors accompanied by their parents, to be unfounded.
Four requests from unaccompanied minors are still to be considered. They have been appointed a legal representative by the Public Prosecutor's Office.
The applicants who have been rejected have already been notified of the decisions and that the period for filing an appeal is running (ten days).
The day after the migrants arrived, the judge on duty at the Silves Court ordered the forced removal and transfer of the migrants to temporary accommodation centers (Porto and Faro). If the migrants do not express their intention to return to Morocco voluntarily, the forced removal has a legal deadline of 60 days.
So far, "none of the migrants have expressed a desire to return to their country of origin," a PSP source explained. In the case of voluntary return, the period can be up to 20 days, and it ended today.
According to the PSP, "only four of the 38 citizens had, or subsequently presented, any identification document".
The group of 38 people - made up of 25 men, six women and seven minors - arrived at Boca do Rio beach, Burgau, in a wooden boat, at 8:05 pm on August 8th.
Until they were transferred to temporary installation centers and similar facilities, the migrants, some of whom were hospitalised, were housed in a sports hall in Sagres, provided by the Civil Protection Service of the Vila do Bispo Municipal Council.
According to information given at the time by the PSP, 14 people were later placed in the Temporary Installation Center of Porto (Santo António Housing Unit), 15 in the Space Equivalent to a Temporary Installation Center (EECIT) in Faro, and nine in the EECIT in Porto.
Source https://www.algarveprimeiro.com/ - photo GNR
