MADRID: While ICE is killing Americans in Minneapolis, Austria, Denmark and Germany etc are cracking down on migrants, Spain is set to regularise half a million sans papier.
Commenting on the development, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pointed to migrants’ contribution to the social security system and said that they represented wealth, development and prosperity of Spain. Hailing her Govt’s proclamation, made on Tuesday (27th Jan, 2026), Elma Saiz, Spain’s minister of inclusion, social security and migration, stated: “This is an historic day for our country…We are reinforcing a migratory model based on human rights, integration, co-existence and which is compatible with economic growth and social cohesion.”
Suzanne Hoff, International Coordinator of La Strada International (LSI – European Platform against trafficking in Human Beings), earlier noted: “Migrants without a regular stay, are very vulnerable for severe forms of labour exploitation and abuse, including human trafficking. Having no access to regular employment and stay, they have little other choice than to accept poor and often hazardous working conditions to survive, for often very little pay, while at the same time not being able to report such misconduct,” said Hoff.
According to details those undocumented immigrants who can prove they lived in the country for five months or more (prior to 31st Dec, last year) can apply for regularisation. By legalising the residency status of 300,000 undocumented migrants per annum through 2027, Spain (harboring an ageing population), would help economic growth by strengthening its labour force. At the moment some three million foreign residents support 13.6 percent of the country’s social security system.
Moreover, Spain will need 25 million immigrants in the next thirty years to sustain the economic growth. Interestingly, in order to avoid the parliament (where governing coalition lacks majority). the plan will be passed by means of a decree. The regularisation will also apply to the children (living in Spain). Those with a clean criminal record will be able to apply from April, till June, 2026. It is pertinent to recall here that Spain had legalised the status of half a million migrants between 1986 and 2005.
Newspakistan.tv
