In the report “Monitoring the Activity and Extinction Process of the Aliens and Borders Service”, the Ombudsman states that, “without prejudice to the eventual adoption of short-term corrective measures, the capacity to respond to migrants cannot fail to be guided by a medium and long-term strategy”.

“This means that the possible adoption, during the transition period, of separate measures to reduce the number of pending cases, although it may serve to temporarily restore balance, does not solve the fundamental problem. Once its immediate effect has passed, the tendency towards aggravation of liabilities resulting from the imbalance between a sharp increase in the number of requests by foreign citizens and the administration’s response capacity will continue”, explains the document.

The Ombudsman's Office defends "the need to define goals and objectives in a timed manner, in general, in terms of processing documentation and, in particular, with regard to the recovery of pending issues".

The ombudsman, Maria Lúcia Amaral, considers it “fundamental that, during the current transition period, the national direction of the SEF and the board of directors of AIMA [Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum] are properly articulated”.