Plans by Spain’s Socialist Party Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to offer amnesty to a significant number of undocumented immigrants have raised concerns about the stability of the EU’s open borders policy.
This month, Madrid’s left-leaning coalition government unveiled a regularization initiative. This program aims to provide legal residency to at least 500,000, potentially exceeding 1 million, undocumented immigrants, as long as they have no criminal history and have resided in the country since the start of the year.
The initiative, acknowledged by Sánchez’s far-left partners, is seen as a strategy to alienate local conservative voters and has provoked reactions in Spain and beyond, sparking debate across other EU members.
There’s a worry that illegal migrants currently in other EU nations may migrate to Spain in hopes of regularizing their status, which could complicate local deportation efforts.
Some argue this move could also stress the Schengen Area, the EU’s zone for visa-free travel, since legal residents from any member state can move freely within this region without border checks.
On Wednesday, Jourdan Bardera, president of the French National Assembly and leader of the European Patriots in the EU parliament, expressed concern, noting that “Pedro Sánchez’s Spain is becoming a gateway for migration into Europe,” suggesting limits on Schengen should be place on non-European nationals.
“Schengen needs to revert to being a European-focused project,” Bardera stated. “Free movement within EU countries under the Schengen Agreement ought to be exclusively for EU nationals.”
He criticized Spain’s left for attempting to cultivate a new voter base, warning of significant consequences for “all of Spain’s neighbors.”
Bardera, a frontrunner in next year’s French presidential election, emphasized the importance of the upcoming vote, not just for France but for the whole of the EU. While he clarified that the National Rally isn’t seeking to leave the EU, his party aspires to “transform everything while preserving the essence.”
Bardera made his comments during a press briefing in Porto at a gathering of the Patriots Group, led by emerging Portuguese politician Andre Ventura and his populist, anti-mass immigration party, Chega.
Ventura weighed in on the Spanish Prime Minister’s amnesty proposal, stating, “This provides an entry point that threatens all EU nations. A large-scale normalization in Spain will also put Portugal at risk.”
Meanwhile, just days after the program commenced in Spain, municipalities across the nation reported feeling overwhelmed by the influx of immigrants seeking residency.
According to the Madrid-based ABC newspaper, the City Council of Zaragoza remarked that, “It’s unsustainable. We’ve faced long lines for days without the capacity to manage it.”
Sánchez’s government estimates that the amnesty will grant legal residency to about 500,000 undocumented individuals. However, figures from the Spanish National Police suggest that over 1.3 million could potentially benefit from the program.
