Regularizing the half-a-million undocumented migrants’ legislation is currently undergoing in the Spanish parliament. The house took its first legislative step towards approving the citizens’ initiative, #RegularizaciónYa, in April 2024. A one-week extension for the presentation of amendments to a citizens’ legislative initiative is registered at the Congress of Deputies for such a measure.
Will the Amnesty Scheme by Spain come into force?
All eyes are on the Spanish parliament now if the amnesty scheme by Spain will come into effect or not. The deputy prime minister Yolanda Diaz also urged the parliament to pass the legislation to legalize the 500,000 undocumented foreigners in the country through an X social media post.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Gerardo Pisarello, the first secretary of the Mesa, defended the regularisation of undocumented migrants, calling it a measure that would be “beneficial for workers and the economy.” The Catalunya en Comú deputy criticized the PP’s stance as “hypocritical,” accusing the party of attacking the government for creating a supposed “call effect” while its leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, acknowledges the need for regular immigrants in the labor market.
While Feijóo has called for a “case by case” approach to migrant regularisation and plans to present an amendment to that effect, Podemos has taken a stronger stance. Ione Belarra’s party has equated the positions of both the PP and PSOE and is demanding that the government take direct action to nationalize migrants if there is insufficient support in Congress for the bill.
There is growing concern that the initiative may be shelved for the remainder of the legislature. Sumar believes that it will be difficult to count on the government’s support, especially after President Pedro Sánchez’s recent trips to Mauritania, Gambia, and Senegal, where he advocated for “circular migration” and emphasized the importance of returning illegal migrants to their countries of origin.
What is the ILP Initiative about?
According to the EU website, the legislative initiative seeks to regularise the status of approximately half a million undocumented foreigners living in Spain since 1 November 2021. The campaign has garnered significant support, collecting over 700,000 signatures and being backed by more than 900 non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
What is the current status of the legislation process?
On 3 September, the Spanish Congress once again extended the deadline for submitting amendments to the bill. The bill has faced months of stagnation, despite broad support in the Chamber at the time, with all groups—except for Vox—voting in favor of its initial processing.
As the debate over the government’s immigration policy continues, parties like Sumar and Podemos are now questioning the viability of the initiative. These parties have recently increased pressure on the PSOE to move forward with the bill. The deadline for amendments has been extended until September 11. Despite both the Popular Party (PP) and the Socialists expressing intentions to propose amendments, none have been submitted so far.
Previous Amnesty Schemes
This is not the first time Spain has planned an amnesty scheme for undocumented foreigners, previously it had also been launched by former prime minister, José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in 2005. At that time, 580,000 applicants were able to get regularised. Overall 700,000 applied for the amnesty but the ones having work contracts and have been living in Spain for a minimum of six months could get success.
Notes from EU Commission, EL Pais, RegularizacionYa, schengenvisa.news and NPR.org