Over the past weekend, a three-month period ended during which the illegal immigrants themselves and their employers could officially apply for a work permit in Spain. According to Spanish authorities, the majority of them took advantage of the opportunity. According to Labor Minister Jesús Caldera, thus 80 to 90% of immigrants who had previously worked illegally were legalized. This concerns only working illegal immigrants, and together with their families their number exceeds one million people who will no longer have to hide from the police or the labor inspection.
It is noted that the majority of illegal immigrants are from Ecuador, Romania, Morocco and Colombia. Opponents of the amnesty believe that this step attracted additional illegal immigrants, including from France, Germany and Italy, who want to legalize their stay in the European Union.
As the Guardian reports, in terms of the number of immigrants, Spain has already overtaken France, which had long been the leader in this indicator. Spain now has 3.7 million migrants, or 8.4% of the country's population. Since 1990, Madrid has already organized six similar amnesties. Most migrants arrive in Europe from Latin America, so this does not cause much tension in Spain, as newcomers speak the same language and profess the same religion. Meanwhile, according to the labor minister, the amnesty will lead to an increase in social security contributions of €1.5 billion per year.