As reported by the Spanish Interior Ministry, these measures will be introduced to counter a possible sharp increase in immigrants entering the country during the period when Spain will be carrying out the process of legalizing immigrants already working in the country. The Spanish authorities fear that during this 'amnesty' many immigrants may arrive in the country who will try to obtain residence rights by fraudulent means.
Since Spain is in dire need of labor, a law will be adopted in the last days of December that will give illegal immigrants with employment contracts ranging from three to six months and registered at their place of residence no later than July 31, 2004, the opportunity to legalize their status from January 31, 2005. It is also planned to grant the right of residence on the basis of recognition of the so-called 'labor rootedness' of the immigrant. From August 1, 2005, those immigrants who were unable to obtain a 6-month contract but can prove that they have lived in Spain for at least two years and worked for at least one year in total will be able to apply for legalization.
According to government calculations, this measure will allow about 800 workers who are working without the appropriate documents to be legalized. This will benefit not only immigrants but also the Spanish state as a whole, as it will lead to increased tax collection and higher contributions to the state social insurance fund.
Entrepreneurs who do not take advantage of this three-month 'amnesty' may face strict measures from April 1, 2005, if they use the labor of illegal immigrants. And foreigners who are unable to legalize during this time are subject to deportation to their home countries.
However, the Spanish state has limited human and financial resources to implement such measures. For example, in 2003 alone, 42,000 court decisions on deportation were issued but never executed. During the same period, the authorities rejected more than 186,000 applications for residence rights. Most expulsion decisions are not enforced because from the time the issue is reviewed until the end of this bureaucratic process, immigrants remain at large and then evade Spanish justice.
However, as has been reported more than once, the deportation service will soon be reinforced with new personnel and its budget will be increased, allowing the police to act more effectively.
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