MADRID (AP) — Spain will legalize about 300,000 undocumented migrants a year, starting next May and through 2027, the country's migration minister said Wednesday.
The policy aims to expand the aging country’s workforce and allow foreigners living in Spain without proper documentation to obtain work permits and residency. Spain has largely remained open to receiving migrants even as other European nations seek to tighten their borders to illegal crossings and asylum seekers.
Spain needs around 250,000 registered foreign workers a year to maintain its welfare state, Migration Minister Elma Saiz said in an interview on Wednesday. She contended that the legalization policy is not aimed solely at “cultural wealth and respect for human rights, it’s also prosperity.”
“Today, we can say Spain is a better country,” Saiz told national broadcaster Radiotelevisión Española.
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has often described his government's migration policies as a means to combat the country's low birthrate. In August, Sánchez visited three West African nations in an effort to tackle irregular migration to Spain’s Canary Islands.
The archipelago off the coast of Africa is seen by many as a step toward continental Europe with young men from Mali, Senegal, Mauritania and elsewhere embarking on dangerous sea voyages there seeking better job opportunities abroad or fleeing violence and political instability at home.
The new policy, approved Tuesday by Spain’s leftist minority coalition government, simplifies administrative procedures for short and long-term visas and provides migrants with additional labor protections. It extends a visa offered previously to job-seekers for three months to one year.
By mid-November, some 54,000 undocumented migrants had reached Spain this year by sea or land, according to the country's Interior Ministry. The exact number of foreigners living in Spain without documentation is unclear.
Many irregular migrants make a living in Spain's underground economy as fruit pickers, caretakers, delivery drivers, or other low-paid but essential jobs often passed over by Spaniards.
Without legal protections, they can be vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Saiz said the new policy would help prevent such abuse and "serve to combat mafias, fraud and the violation of rights."
Spain's economy is among the fastest-growing in the European Union this year, boosted in part by immigration and a strong rebound in tourism after the pandemic.
In 2023, Spain issued 1.3 million visas to foreigners, according to the government.
Follow AP coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/migration
Spain President Pedro Sanchez speaks during a plenary session during a plenary session at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
FILE - Migrants react as they arrive at the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, on, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Scuffles erupted for a second day Wednesday in a northern Serbian city between police and opposition protesters demanding arrests over a deadly roof collapse at the city's railway station earlier this month.
Anti-government protesters sought to block a courthouse in Novi Sad, where the roof collapse at the station on Nov. 1 killed 15 people and injured two others. Riot police pushed the protesters away from the building.
A similar opposition action on Tuesday resulted in an hourslong standoff.
The collapse in Novi Sad has triggered a wave of protests against the populist authorities and arrests of several activists who have taken part. Many in Serbia believe rampant corruption led to sloppy renovation work at the station and consequently to the roof collapse.
Serbia's Interior Minister Ivica Dacic on Wednesday warned protesters in a statement that police “won't tolerate disruption of public law and order, threats to the security of the country and state institutions, as well as attacks on police.”
Separately, police detained two activists in Belgrade who were protesting against plans to demolish a World War II-era bridge that carries trams as well as vehicle traffic over the Sava river between the new and old parts of the city.
Authorities plan to build a new bridge in its place, a process that will take at least three years. Opposition activists say the existing bridge should be preserved and that the process of awarding contracts for the building work lacks transparency.
In Novi Sad, a group of opposition lawmakers managed to enter the court building on Wednesday while police pushed away others who were standing outside. Protesters are also demanding the release from detention of activists jailed during the recent protests over the collapse.
The huge concrete outer roof of the railway station building suddenly crashed on Nov. 1, falling on people sitting on benches or standing below. Initially 14 people died and three were severely injured but one of the injured people died on Sunday.
The authorities have promised a thorough investigation and Serbia’s construction minister, Goran Vesic, resigned shortly after the tragedy. Populist President Aleksandar Vucic has said more resignations will follow, and on Wednesday a former construction minister now in charge of trade, Tomislav Momirovic, also said he was stepping down.
No one has been arrested, however, and no charges have been brought, though prosecutors said dozens of people have been questioned as part of the probe.
The station was originally built in 1964 and was renovated twice in recent years as part of a wider agreement with Chinese state construction companies.
Serbian police officers guard Old Sava Bridge, which is closed for removal, in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbian police officers guard Old Sava Bridge, which is closed for removal, in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Skirmishes between Serbian police and opposition protesters demanding arrests over a deadly roof collapse at a railway station in Novi Sad, Serbia, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo)
Serbian police stand guard as opposition protesters demand arrests over a deadly roof collapse at a railway station in Novi Sad, Serbia, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo)
Skirmishes between Serbian police and opposition protesters demanding arrests over a deadly roof collapse at a railway station in Novi Sad, Serbia, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo)
Skirmishes between Serbian police and opposition protesters demanding arrests over a deadly roof collapse at a railway station in Novi Sad, Serbia, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo)
Skirmishes between Serbian police and opposition protesters demanding arrests over a deadly roof collapse at a railway station in Novi Sad, Serbia, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo)
Skirmishes between Serbian police and opposition protesters demanding arrests over a deadly roof collapse at a railway station in Novi Sad, Serbia, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo)
Serbian police officers guard a courthouse during an anti-government protest demanding arrests over a deadly roof collapse at a railway station in Novi Sad, Serbia, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo)
