One Egyptian family who had been stranded for a month at Guarulhos International Airportin São Paulo, was allowed to enter Brazil this Thursday (8). The mother, who is pregnant, and her two children, had permission granted, the children’s father, however, continues to be prevented from accessing national territory.
The family sought refuge in Brazil to escape the instability caused by conflicts in the Middle East.
The Egyptians’ defense, represented by lawyer Willian Fernandes, states that the decision came after much mobilization of civil society and legal authorities and institutional.
Upon entry, the woman and children were welcomed by a network of migrant support entities that have been following the case since the beginning. The family was welcomed as soon as they left the airport.
According to the lawyer, the case is being discussed in the Judiciary and the expectation is that there will be a review of Abdallah’s current condition.
“It is progress, but it is still incomplete. There is no fair solution without family reunification. We will continue to work to ensure that the father can also enter Brazil and fully exercise his right to live with his family”, says Fernandes in a statement.
The defense also remembers that the pregnant woman is in the 36th week of pregnancy and that she cannot be left without her husband in a .
The case has mobilized entities that fight in defense of Human Rights and attracted the attention of the Human Rights Commission of the Chamber of Deputies and some bodies of the federal Executive Branch.
The CDHIC (Center for Human Rights and Immigrant Citizenship) published a public note informing that it has monitored at least four situations similar to the family’s over the last six months. For them: “the cases reveal the adoption of procedures that have resulted in prolonged compulsory stays, without adequate access to information, adversarial proceedings and broad defense.”
“Security policies must be compatible with the protection of fundamental rights, guaranteeing freedom of movement, the right to migrate and, above all, the individualized, proportional and well-founded analysis of each case. CDHIC will continue to monitor these situations and work towards the construction of a migration policy based on human dignity, due legal process and the effective protection of people in vulnerable situations”, he concluded.
In a note, the defense criticized the evaluation of cases used in a generic way by Ordinance No. 770/2019 and without adequate individualization.
She cited the case of a Palestinian family who had also been barred from the country by the same ordinance. On that occasion, the Judiciary allowed the family to enter, recognizing their request for refuge. The refusal to release the family was initially adopted due to the classification that the individuals could pose a danger to the country.
“It is not acceptable for an administrative rule to allow labeling people as dangerous without transparency, without contradiction and without individualized reasons,” he said.
A CNN Brazil sought Guarulhos International Airport, but has not received any answers so far. The space remains open.
Note from the Center for Human Rights and Immigrant Citizenship:
“After more than 30 days of staying in the restricted area of Guarulhos International Airport, a pregnant Egyptian woman and her two children finally managed to enter Brazil, after a solution created with the Federal Police.
The measure represents an important humanitarian advance, especially given the family’s vulnerable condition. Even so, the situation remains partially resolved, as Abdallah Saad Ali Montaser remains prevented from entering the country, remaining in the restricted area of the airport.
The case is not isolated.
In the last six months, CDHIC has monitored at least four similar situations involving prolonged detention in the restricted area of Guarulhos Airport. All of them concern people seeking humanitarian protection or refuge, although only part of these cases are formally linked to mechanisms such as Ordinance No. 770/2019.
In common, the cases reveal the adoption of procedures that have resulted in prolonged compulsory stays, without adequate access to information, adversarial proceedings and full defense.
It is important to recognize that the Brazilian State has a duty to protect its borders and act to combat serious crimes. The work of the Federal Police is essential in this context.
However, the adoption of security criteria — including those based on information from international databases — cannot replace due legal process, nor eliminate the need for individualized analysis of each specific case.
Recent experience demonstrates that inclusion in international lists or databases is not, in itself, sufficient to justify prolonged restrictions on freedom without transparency, adequate justification and the possibility of defense.
Previous cases reinforce this concern. In 2019, an Egyptian citizen initially linked to international lists later had his name removed from these databases.
More recently, in 2024, a migrant from Ghana died in the restricted area of Guarulhos Airport while awaiting a decision on his entry into the country, dramatically highlighting the limits of practices that prioritize security logic to the detriment of the protection of human dignity.
The topic has already reached public and institutional relevance, having been the subject of hearings in the National Congress and the Legislative Assembly of the State of São Paulo, in addition to integrating the concerns presented by the United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Human Rights of Migrants, who visited Guarulhos Airport and received complaints from civil society about the procedures adopted in the restricted area. This scenario reinforces the urgent need to review Ordinance No. 770/2019 and Technical Note No. 18/2024, in order to ensure compatibility with constitutional and international human rights parameters.
In practice, the cases monitored have shown significant restrictions on the right to defense and due legal process, with prolonged detentions and decisions based on information to which the interested parties themselves do not have access, making it impossible to effectively exercise contradictory proceedings. It is not acceptable for pregnant women, children and families to remain for weeks in restricted areas of airports, subjected to psychological suffering, legal uncertainty and a lack of definition regarding their situation.
Security policies must be compatible with the protection of fundamental rights, guaranteeing freedom of movement, the right to migrate and, above all, the individualized, proportional and well-founded analysis of each case. The CDHIC will continue to monitor these situations and work towards the construction of a migration policy based on human dignity, due legal process and the effective protection of people in vulnerable situations.”
*Under the supervision of Carolina Figueiredo
