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By Jasmine Laws
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The Spanish government has announced that it will grant legal status to potentially 500,000 undocumented migrants who are in the country, living and working without authorization.
On Tuesday, Spanish Minister of Migration Elma Saiz said that a measure would be implemented to enable eligible immigrants to have up to one year of legal residency as well as permission to work.
Why It Matters
The new measure comes in stark contrast with the anti-immigration policies being brought in the United States and a number of European countries.
Read More on News
As the Trump administration's Operation Metro Surge is seeing hundreds of arrests happening across the Twin Cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul, in Minnesota, as well as the deaths of Americans Renee Good and Alex Pretti, protests and polls continue to show public anger at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Border Patrol agents nationwide, with celebrities also speaking out about America's current immigration policies.
A number of European countries—including Italy, Denmark, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland—also called on the European Union last year to make it simpler for member states to remove foreign criminals, while Britain proposed major changes to its policy on asylum-seekers toward the end of last year to crack down on immigration.
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What To Know
In comparison to the European countries cracking down on immigration policy, Saiz said that Spain would "not look the other way," and that the government is "dignifying and recognizing people who are already in our country."
She said that the measure could benefit around 500,000 people living in Spain without legal status, although other organizations have reportedly estimated the number could be notably higher—at around 800,000.
In Spain, many immigrants are from Latin American or African countries, typically working in the agricultural, tourism or service sectors, which each play vital roles in Spain's booming economy.
This is also not the first time Spain has granted legal status to certain illegal immigrants, as between 1986 and 2005, it brought in similar measures six times.
Under the new initiative, immigrants may be granted legal status for up to one year if they can prove they have been in the country for at least five months, if they arrived before December 31, 2025, and if they have no criminal record.
The move has been met with support from a range of different groups, from many migrant rights groups to Catholic associations, who say that the move will give immigrants working essential jobs the important worker's rights and protections formal jobs have.
However, the move is not without critics, as some center-right and far-right parties criticized the policy, raising concerns over immigration rates in the country.
Commenting on the global crackdown on immigration happening across Europe and the U.S., Saiz said that Spain would be a "beacon" in the fight against such policies. She added: “We will do everything in our power to stop it. I believe that today is a great day for our country."
What People Are Saying
Laetitia Van der Vennet, senior advocacy officer at PICUM, a European network of migrant rights organizations, said: "At a time when a hostile environment against migrants is spreading on both sides of the Atlantic, this move shows both humanity and common sense."
Silvana Cabrera, a spokesperson for the migrant campaigning group RegularizaciónYa, or RegularizationNow in English, said: “We are not used to these victories."
What Happens Next
Saiz said that she expects eligible immigrants will be able to start applying for their legal status from April until the end of June.
This article contains reporting from The Associated Press.
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