POPULATION-EUROPE: Spain Shuts Door on Immigrants

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Alicia Fraerman

MADRID, Dec 11 1999 (IPS) - Spain is known as Europe’s southern door for immigrants, and is on the verge of slamming it shut as a bill on foreigners dies in parliament, leaving immigration law in limbo, and jeopardising thousands of immigrants, until a new parliament is elected sometime next year.

There are currently some 800,000 legal and 200,000 illegal immigrants in Spain, with its total population of 40 million. Parliament’s first draft of the bill on foreigners, written under the consensus of all political parties, established that the 200,000 undocumented immigrants could apply for permanent residence.

But the governing centre-right Popular Party (PP) presented 112 amendments to the bill in Senate at the last minute Wednesday, questioning or contradicting many of the issues included in the proposed law, in an apparent attempt to kill it.

One of the PP’s amendments states foreigners would only be granted permanent Spanish documents if they have already been granted temporary residence that has been renewed at least twice.

The amendment also stipulates that individuals must prove they have economic means to support themselves and that they have not left Spanish territory since they were first granted residency.

Another amendment limits immigrants’ freedom of movement, rights to public participation, protest, and association, as well as their rights to work and social security.

Spain is known as Europe’s “south door” because of its two enclaves in North Africa, the cities of Ceuta and Melilla, which are used by foreigners to enter Europe. Morocco also claims sovereignty over the two cities.

In a similar process, immigrants also use the Canary Islands, located off the northwestern African coast, as an entry point.

Spain has also been the traditional port of entry for immigrants coming from Latin America, due to historic and cultural ties and the dual-nationality agreements it has with many of the region’s countries.

Another route to Spain consists of getting aboard a “patera” (kickboard), any precarious floatation device used by immigrants from North Africa to reach the Iberian peninsula to avoid passing through border check-points.

Illegal immigrants also enter Spain through one of its airports, posing as tourists. But the air terminals, like Barajas in Madrid, violate all international immigration treaties, asserts attorney José Antonio Moreno, spokesman for ‘SOS Racismo,’ a non- governmental organisation (NGO).

At Barajas, officials conduct passport control inside the aircraft, at the foot of the disembarkation stairs or on the runway itself – all practices that are prohibited under international law, said Moreno.

Administrative requirements also impose various obstacles for immigrants, some of which are illegal, Moreno pointed out. But civil society has mobilised in favour of immigrants through NGOs, 60 of which have repeatedly launched protests to demand more humane treatment of people arriving from overseas.

Requiring potential immigrants to obtain a visa and a promise of work before traveling to Spain would nullify most foreigners’ chances of gaining entry. The PP’s strict measures come despite the business community and trade union’s complaints that Spain lacks workers, especially in farming and construction sectors.

Obtaining a visa and work permit while still in one’s country of origin is unacceptable, asserted New Left party legislator Diego López Garrido, one of the most outspoken critics of the PP’s proposals. “The government response takes years, and it would take a miracle to blindly be given a job,” he added.

If the immigrant bill is left in limbo, the situation of immigrants could grow decidedly worse.

Such is the case of a Nigerian woman, Amen Erhunmuwunse, who Madrid’s High Court had granted a residency permit in recognition of the fact that she held a job and was married to a permanent resident.

However, Madrid’s police chief Julio Corrachano revoked Erhunmuwunse’s residency, stating she lacked a visa to enter the country.

Erhunmuwunse presented a complaint against Corrochano in late November for breach of trust and disobeying the law. The deportation order emitted against her was suspended until the trial’s conclusion.

Some NGOs, like SOS Racismo, target immigrants to help them, or solidarity work, like that of Roman Catholic priest Andrés Avelino, who serves the parish of Algeciras, a port city on the Andalucian coast of the Mediterranean Sea, across from Morocco.

The police keep their eye on Avelino because he is known to provide shelter for many “wetbacks” (illegal immigrants) who arrive and have no idea where to turn.

The government in Cádiz, another Andalucian port, also sanctioned a woman, in September, Francisca Gil, for housing an illegal immigrant. After being held overnight in jail, she was accused of aiding illegal immigration, but the judge in the case absolved her of the crime.

Gil, known as “Paqui” to her family and friends, admits she was and is scared, but says she will continue helping immigrants. “If they fine me, bad luck, and if they arrest me, bad luck again,” she stated.

In Spanish parliament Wednesday, as time ran out to present the more than 100 amendments, the governing party resorted to filibustering, which consists of paralysing debate using whatever hair-splitting measures are available.

If the bill is not passed before this legislative session ends Dec 23, the issue will have to start from zero under the new parliament to be elected in March, on a date to be decided by the Executive branch.