June Was a Catastrophe: Over 30,000 New Cases Filed Against AIMA in Just One Month

After several months of decline, the number of summons requests to the Agency for Integration, Migration, and Asylum (AIMA) has surged again due to unmet deadlines in immigrant services. Nearly 80,000 requests are pending at the Lisbon Administrative Court. In June alone, the number of cases skyrocketed by almost 60%, adding 33,000 new cases.

In an interview with TSF and Jornal de Notícias (JN), Eliana de Almeida Pinto, secretary judge of the Superior Council of Administrative and Fiscal Courts, noted that this spike coincided with a "significant legislative change" announced by the government regarding immigration and nationality laws.

"This June was a catastrophe once again, unfortunately. We're now at 79,947 cases. It had stabilized in April and May, with only 253 to 300 cases entering daily at most. But June saw numbers between 800 and 900," she revealed, emphasizing that "AIMA is resolving more cases than it's receiving, but it's not communicating this."

"These cases are consuming the time of judges, court officials, and advisors who could be focusing on other important matters. The surge might be linked to the announcement of upcoming legal changes, prompting those in irregular situations to act quickly. The reality is we're now seeing daily entries of 600 to 900 cases," she added.