Irregular immigration to some European countries had caused controversy with far-right politicians and individuals latching on the issue and claiming that “foreigners”, whether legally or irregularly migrating to the region, were a threat to so-called “European homogeneity” and culture.
Spain is no different where the issue might be more highlighted due to the country’s closeness to the African continent, which made it easier for irregular immigrant to reach Europe and specifically Spain.
The Spanish Interior Ministry’s statistics had shown that the number of irregular immigrants arriving to Spain in 2018 had reached 64,298, which went down to 32,449 in 2019, but increased drastically in 2020 and 2021 to reach 42,097 and 41,945 respectively.
The number took a drastic hike reaching 56,852 in 2023, an increase of 82.1 percent when compared to 2022’s 31,219, added the statistics.
Since the beginning of this year until August 15, some 31,155 immigrants reached Spain and if one calculates the total numbers of
irregular immigrants until the end of 2023, it is estimated to reach around 700,000, according to statistics by some independent groups.
Government estimations puts the number of legal immigrants at around 6.5 million added to the 42.1 million Spaniards, which puts the population at 48.5 million in total. Spanish authorities had carried out 2,515 operations in the first quarter of 2024 to find and deport irregular immigrants, leading to the expulsion of around 10,000.
Beyond numbers and statistics, the issue of irregular immigrants is heavily focused upon in Spanish politics with the rightwing and far-right groups repeating racist rhetoric against such people especially if they happened to be Muslims.
The focus from the far-right groups is on increase number of immigrants that reach Spain from the archipelago of the Canary Islands and also minor irregular and irregular immigrants that enter the country.
Such groups warned that irregular immigrants were a threat to Spanish culture and ideals as well as the
very fabric of society.
Meanwhile, the grim truth is that illegal immigrants, who try and enter Spain for whatever reason, face an increasing number of horrific and untold challenges especially through the so-called “Canary Islands road”, which claimed according to some NGOs around 4,808 irregular immigrants trying to better their lives in Spain between January and May of this year alone.
Coming back to the issue of minor immigrants, Interior Ministry statistics had shown in 2023 that they number at around 15,056 and their age range around 16-23 years old.
Some 12,921 between age 18 and 23 — from different backgrounds, nationalities and ethnicities — have been mostly employed in the hospitality and service industries and other types of jobs.
As for the rest of minors, municipalities influenced by the far right refused to employ them on various crime-related accusations.
While, the Spanish government sees the far-rights attitude as “irresponsible” it failed to include non-white minors in the Spanish edu
cational system with the exception of 35 Ukrainian minor migrants who were included without a hitch or hesitation.
The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) revealed that last July that immigration was seen as an issue to be addressed along with unemployment, political upheavals, and the problems facing the economy.
Europe, as a whole, is trying to find a solution to the issue of irregular immigration with the EU, for instance, calling for signing agreements with countries, which such immigrants came from as a solution to their increasing numbers.
Source: Kuwait News Agency