Nearly a million migrants want to regularize their status in Spain – Politico

In Spain, undocumented migrants are applying en masse for legal status as part of a large-scale government regularization program, which is set to expire next Tuesday. The Spanish government initially projected participation of about 500,000 people, but by mid-June, the number of applicants had already exceeded 900,000. 

The program provides renewable residence permits to all foreigners who have been in the country for at least five months and have no criminal record. According to Spanish authorities, about 360,000 applicants have already successfully obtained temporary work and residence permits.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez defends this initiative, calling it a fair recognition of migrants’ contribution to the national economy. At the same time, the government’s policy has faced harsh criticism from opposition forces, particularly the center-right People’s Party and the far-right Vox party. Despite political resistance, Spain’s Supreme Court last month fully rejected a motion to temporarily suspend the relevant government decree, allowing the legalization process to be completed.

This was reported by Politico.

At the European Union summit, a heated dispute erupted between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez over the issue of addressing illegal migration through legalization. 

At the same time, large-scale rallies by both supporters and opponents of migration took place in Rome.