Spain’s decision to regularise 500,000 undocumented migrants and asylum seekers has provoked a fierce political backlash, with rightwing parties accusing the government of rewarding “illegality” and encouraging an “invasion”. The measure, announced by the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE), aims to boost economic growth and social cohesion.
Conservative People’s party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo said the amnesty would overwhelm public services, while Santiago Abascal of the far-right Vox party claimed it was designed to replace Spaniards with foreigners. Despite the opposition, the policy is not unprecedented: similar regularisations were enacted between 1986 and 2005 by both PP and socialist governments.
For many undocumented workers, the amnesty is life-changing. A Bangladeshi man in Madrid, who sells umbrellas for €200-€400 a month, called it “a gift from God”. He said: “I don’t have my papers so I can’t get a proper job… I’m out on the street all day in the rain and the cold and the sun.”
Rosa, a Colombian cleaner working informally, said the programme offers a chance to earn more than €120 a week and access social security. “Some people deliberately hire undocumented people because they know they won’t need to pay them what they should,” she said.
Research suggests economic benefits: a study of the 2005 regularisation found tax revenues increased by about €4,000 per regularised immigrant per year, with no “magnet effect” on further arrivals. Labour economist Joan Monràs noted that immigrants’ career paths improved significantly, with domestic workers moving to larger companies within six months.
