The municipal plans for the integration of refugees in Portugal (2015-2022)

The local ambit has been identified as an important factor for the success of the migrant integration process. This importance was recognized at the political level, in such a way that some municipalities approved integration plans, although these are characterized by the almost absence of mentions to the situation of refugees. Following the influx of refugees to Europe in 2015 and the relocation process of which Portugal was part, followed by a larger program to host resettled refugees, plans for the integration of refugees emerged in some municipalities and, in other cases, the refugee category emerged in the renewed plans. The purpose of this article is to carry out a comparative analysis of local policies for the integration of refugees developed by Portuguese municipalities, investigating the way in which the refugee category is incorporated into the integration plans and in what terms the adopted measures incorporate the specificities associated with their social integration. This study is exploratory and is based on documentary sources, namely the municipal plans for the integration of immigrants and refugees submitted in 2015-2017, 2018-2020 and 2020-2022