A petition containing over 600,000 signatures, supported by around 900 associations, has been submitted to the Spanish Parliament, demanding the exceptional regularization of all undocumented immigrants living in the country. Launched three years ago by a migrant defense collective, the initiative calls for the implementation of “mechanisms” to allow undocumented individuals in Spain to “emerge from a situation of invisibility and legal limbo.” This petition will be examined in a plenary session by the deputies, who will decide whether to formally consider a proposed law on the matter.
The far-left party Sumar, a partner of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist Party in the government, has already expressed support for mass regularization. However, the Socialists, while more cautious, believe that European law does not permit the widespread regularization of undocumented immigrants. “According to the most recent estimates, between 390,000 and 470,000 people are in an irregular situation in Spain, one-third of whom are minors,” the text submitted to the deputies emphasizes, with the backing of 906 associations and the Church. The document also criticizes the highly restrictive criteria for obtaining residency permits, stating that the administrative process for obtaining or renewing such permits is “slow, bureaucratic,” and involves “a significant amount of arbitrariness.”
According to the collective behind the petition, this situation undermines the “fundamental rights” of undocumented immigrants. As they are not taxed, it results in “significant economic and fiscal losses” for Spain. The authors of the petition recall that policies of mass regularization have been implemented several times in recent years in the European Union, particularly in Spain, in 2000 and 2005.
In 2000, conservative Prime Minister José Maria Aznar regularized nearly 137,000 illegal immigrants before tightening the conditions for residency permits. In 2005, the government of Socialist José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero similarly regularized around 580,000 irregular immigrants in an “exceptional” process, which garnered criticism across Europe.
Source: RFI