The Dominion - Spain

Fortress Europe

hillarybain — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 13:27:09 +0000

The Spanish/Moroccan Border

As the gap between rich and poor widens around the world, those in the so-called Third World are desperate to reach the countries where food, jobs and ‘security’ remain. Similar to the US/Mexico border that is slowly being sealed off to those from the south, Fortress Europe is working hard to close itself off from those on the ‘outside.’

This essay is part of a larger project focused on borders that are becoming increasingly militarized and deadly, and the people and land they are dividing. These shots were taken from Melilla, Spain, a Spanish enclave in the north of Morocco. Migrants travel for four, five, sometimes six years to reach this side of the line, only to be held in migrant holding centres, sometimes for years, awaiting their papers or a deportation order back to where they started.

Spanish/Moroccan Border 1

Spanish/Moroccan Border 2

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Spanish/Moroccan Border 4

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Spanish/Moroccan Border 8

Spanish/Moroccan Border 9

Spanish/Moroccan Border 10

Spanish/Moroccan Border 11

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Amnesty for 700, 000 Illegal Workers in Spain

Wed, 11 May 2005 21:29:29 +0000

In a move that reverses recent trends in Europe to crackdown on illegal immigrants, Spain's socialist government announced an amnesty programme that will allow up to 90 per cent (700, 000) of the migrant workers in the country to apply for residence permits so long as their current employers provide them with at least six-month work contracts.

Speaking of the amnesty programme, Spain's pro-socialist El País newspaper was supportive, considering it "the only way to deal with situations that are humanely and socially unsustainable and which harm the economy."

According to Giles Tremlett of the Guardian, the amnesty initiative will help to combat exploited migrants who work "secretly and fearfully in the black economy." Once workers' families are brought into the equation, this will amount to approximately one million people no longer forced to hide from Spanish immigration authorities.

Tremlett also suggests that Spain's booming economy has benefited greatly from the influx of migrant workers, a number which is now the highest in Europe and has quadrupled to 3.7 million since 2000. Immigrants have not only helped curb Spain's population decline, but have fueled consumer growth. Further, the social security contributions of those granted amnesty will help to offset "a looming pensions crisis."

The Guardian: Spain grants amnesty to 700,000 migrants

The Dominion Weblog: When in Spain?

BBC: Spain launches immigrant amnesty

New York Times: Spain: Amnesty For Migrants

Washington Times: France adds to EU's immigration debate

Human Rights Watch: Closed-door Immigration Policy Is Shameful Vision

Spain holds 200 Moroccan migrants

Thu, 30 Sep 2004 22:00:55 +0000

Mild weather and the promise of legal status have spurred over 200 Moroccans to risk a journey to Spain in small crafts.

Over 200 Moroccans caught trying to illegally enter Spain are being held by authorities in Granada pending their return to Morocco. The Spanish Coast Guard intercepted five inflatable boats loaded with migrants, which brings the total captured to 1500 for the year – double the figure from this time last year. Over 4000 illegal migrants are believed to have died in the treacherous crossing between Morocco and Spain in the past five years alone.

The increased migration this year is believed to be a result of particularly fair weather, which favours water crossing in small crafts, and also because Spain's new socialist government is considering granting residence permits to illegal migrants with jobs. Spanish opposition parties have seized on the migration numbers as evidence that this relaxed immigration policy is flawed.

Nevertheless, in the recent months the US government has discussed a similar amnesty for illegal migrants as a means of solving expected long-term labour shortages, though this move is believed to be as much a way of courting the Latino vote in upcoming US presidential elections as anything. Proposals to accept more immigration into Canada have been put forward as a means of countering a declining national birthrate, though little movement in this direction is expected with the fragile minority government currently in place.

» Reuters: Spain holds 200 Moroccans

» CBS: Big Change For Illegal Aliens?

» London Free Press: Labour shortage looms in London