Approximately three months ago the U.S. and Spanish governments announced plans for self-voluntary deportations of illegal immigrants. The U.S. plan- entitled “Operation Scheduled Departure”- allowed undocumented immigrants to turn themselves in without arrest and would give them three months to prepare before deportation.Critics blasted “Operation Scheduled Departure” with one calling it “more about public relations than solutions.” To nobody’s surprise the critics were right.
The Spanish “self-deportation” program was a little more flexible than the U.S. plan yet it was correctly attacked by politicos on both the left and right as a “populist measure”.
Perhaps by now you can guess what’s next:
A Spanish program that pays jobless immigrants to return home is turning out to be a flop, with the vast majority opting to stay put and weather hard times…Two governments separated by a vast ocean yet united by incompetence on immigration. Unbelievable.
The initiative offers jobless non-EU foreigners - mostly Latin Americans - the option of receiving unemployment benefit in two lump-sums, on average totaling about €10,400 (£9,245). In exchange, they must return to their native country for at least three years.
However, the money on offer is hardly enough to start a new life back home. Wages in the home countries of many immigrants are much lower than in Spain, where immigrants earn an average of £1,022 a month, compared with £180 in Colombia, for example. In addition, the idea of giving up hard-fought Spanish work and residency permits is scary, immigrant advocacy groups say.
Image- marketplace
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, Guardian UK
2 comments:
Sir, you are absolutely right to highlight the incompetence of the two systems, both of which are poorly managed. The Spanish situation is alarming due to the existence of the right to freedom of movement within the EU. I personally know Colombians and Brazilians who have received work permits in Spain and Portugal and have subsequently used them to settle in the UK. At least in the Spanish case, the EU federation is as blameworth as the Spanish national government for the alarming immigration situation that we face. In terms of the US, I am reminded of a Honduran who once said to an American politician: "we wouldn't be here if you weren't there!"
www.craigdylan.blogspot.com
WORK FROM HOME
Post a Comment