The Migration Technicians’ Union, in a statement on 21 October, rejected narratives that tie Portugal’s housing crisis to immigrants. President Manuela Niza says immigrants are part of the solution, not the problem: “Pointing the finger is easy, but it does not build a single house.” It is a union position. It is not a new law, and it does not withdraw the rental bill under discussion.

Público, via Lusa, quotes the union: blaming immigrants for the crisis is “incorrect and helps create stigmas,” pulls the debate off solutions and weakens cohesion. Technicians who work daily in the migration system, STM writes, do not recognise themselves in comments that hang structural problems on migrants.

The figures it cites come from the Migration Observatory: in 2025 more than 1.1 million foreign citizens contributed to Social Security, 14% of contributions, a surplus of about €3.3 billion. STM also says AIMA teams flag exploitation and check lodging declarations, against the idea that files pass without verification.

The union finds it worrying that immigration remains a political instrument, at the expense of government responsibilities. It asks for stronger public services — housing, integration, social support — and communication that does not stigmatise communities.

The position comes amid housing protests that began in Porto on 10 October and spread to Lisbon, days after parliamentary approval of the new rental law, now in article-by-article debate. In an interview with Renascença and Público, Nuno Melo, defence minister and CDS-PP leader, linked the protests to an “absolute lack of control” of immigration. The full interview was due later. STM does not sign Melo’s sentence. Nor does it cancel the law.

Source consulted: Housing crisis: union refuses to blame immigrants and cites a €3.3 billion Social Security surplus — Público.

Image: a view of Lisbon, 10 May 2019, Frederick Noronha, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The city, not Wednesday’s protest.

Sources consulted: Migration Observatory — the 2025 contribution figures cited by STM.