Spain toughens migration policy, vowing to expel all illegals

Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published: Tuesday September 12, 2006

Madrid- The constant influx of Africans to the Canary Islands has prompted Spain's Socialist government to toughen its immigration policy, news reports said Tuesday. The government now excludes massive amnesties to illegals and vows to expel all of them, according to the daily El Pais.

The conservative opposition accuses Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's government of encouraging illegal immigration by allowing large numbers of migrants to legalize their situation after staying in Spain for a while.

About 1.2 million immigrants have obtained residence permits in eight massive amnesties over the past two decades. Around 700,000 of the migrants were legalized by Socialist governments.

Socialist leaders have rejected the conservatives' request of a law against new amnesties, but have also said that the government would not stage any more mass legalization procedures.

"Anyone who comes irregularly must know that he will have to leave," said Jose Blanco, organizational secretary of the Socialist Party.

Illegals "will leave sooner or later," Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega stressed Tuesday.

The arrival of some 23,000 Africans to the Canary Islands this year has sparked criticism against the government, which faces accusations of having created a "call effect" by legalizing nearly 600,000 illegals last year.

Blanco said the Spanish labour market could not absorb any more immigrants, but employers' and labour organizations disagreed.

Spain needed more immigrants to do jobs that Spaniards were not interested in, though they should come legally, said Julio Ruiz of the labour confederation CCOO.

Press reports meanwhile said that Senegal had stepped up measures against would-be immigrants heading for Spain, jailing them as participants in human traffic instead of regarding them as its victims.

More than 250 migrants have been imprisoned in the port of Ziguinchor in Senegal's Casamance region, which is one of the main points of departure of immigrant boats on the West African coast, according to El Pais.

Many of the jailed migrants were, however, soon released.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agenteur