The reform of immigration policy in Portugal: extinction of SEF (Foreigners and Borders Service) and clear separation between migration management and internal security

In the field of borders and migration, the intersection of administrative activities and security concerns are particularly complex. In many EU states, the institutions which are charged with carrying out these activities are police or even in some cases military. One of the difficulties of the approaches of these authorities is the emphasis of their primary duties on various forms of security rather than the correct application of administrative law. The example of Portugal is particularly interesting. A major reform of the authorities responsible for considering and processing migration applications has brought into existence a new independent agency which is charged exclusively with the determination of applications and is not part of the state apparatus to protect security. This presentation will examine the purposes and processes by which this example of de-securitization has occurred and the frictions which this has caused.