The arrival of illegal immigrants in the Algarve, so far fewer than 100 people, does not yet make it possible to say whether there is a new migratory pattern or whether Portugal is just a transit point, according to the Secretary of State for Migration. In an interview with Lusa, Cláudia Pereira, said there is also no data to understand if they wanted to come to Portugal or if they wanted to leave Portugal and go to other countries. More than half have applied for asylum but none of these people have yet been granted any status. Since December 2019, small groups of migrants on boats, originating in Morocco, have sporadically landed in the Algarve.