Spain to undergo immigration crackdown

The Spanish government proposed harsher immigration laws reputedly designed to counter a faltering economy. "In our difficult current situation, decisions have been taken to adapt immigration levels to the labor market," mentioned labor minister Celestino Corbacho on Friday.

Pending approval by the Parliament, the measures are wide-ranging and will especially affect families:

The Spanish government on Friday approved plans to tighten the conditions for immigration, lengthening the maximum detention of undocumented migrants from 40 to 70 days. The planned law will also make it more difficult for immigrants to bring family members to Spain, allowing them to bring parents only if they have lived in Spain for at least five years and if the parents are more than 65 years old.

Over four million legal immigrants (including hundreds of thousands from the Americas) live in Spain along with an unknown number of undocumented immigrants. Spain’s immigration policy has been generally liberal though the new proposal would certainly change that.

Image- usnews.com (“An anti-immigration protest by an ultraright Spanish political party.”)
Online Sources- Guardian UK, Reuters, earthtimes.org, New York Times