Spain Approves Legal Status for 500K Migrants

Spain's government has approved a plan to grant legal status to approximately 500,000 undocumented migrants, according to multiple reports. The measure, passed on Tuesday by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's administration, will open applications starting April 16.

The amnesty is a central part of Sanchez's progressive agenda aimed at harnessing the economic benefits of migration for Spain's aging population. However, immigration offices across the country have threatened to strike next week in protest against what they describe as inadequate resources allocated to handle the anticipated influx of applications.

'The government is once again implementing a new regularization without giving offices enough economic resources to handle it,' Cesar Perez, a union leader for Spain's immigration officers, told Reuters. To manage the workload, only five of Spain's 54 immigration offices will process these applications, with others distributed among social security offices and NGOs.

The move has sparked criticism from opposition parties. Isabel Diaz Ayuso, president of Madrid's regional government and a prominent figure in the Popular Party, has threatened to appeal the initiative in court. Critics argue that without simultaneous housing policy reforms, legalizing large numbers of migrants will increase competition for scarce accommodation, particularly in urban centers like Barcelona and Madrid.

Sanchez defended the measure as both an act of justice and economic necessity. 'Spain is aging... Without more people working and contributing to the economy, our prosperity slows, and our public services suffer,' he wrote in a letter addressed to citizens. Spain's population has risen sharply to around 50 million in recent years, with about 10 million residents born outside the country.