‘A migration model based on human rights’: Spain to grant legal status to half a million undocumented migrants

Madrid, Spain — 

Spain has announced it will grant legal status to 500,000 undocumented migrants, in a move that goes against a trend of anti-immigration rhetoric and policies in the United States and much of Europe.

The move, announced Tuesday, is aimed at reducing labor exploitation in Spain’s underground economy. The country’s central bank and the United Nations have previously said that Spain needs around 300,000 migrant workers a year to sustain its welfare state.

“Today is a historic day for our country,” Spain’s immigration minister Elma Saiz told a press conference. “We are strengthening a migration model based on human rights, integration, coexistence, and compatibility with economic growth and social cohesion.”

Saiz said the new measure was “necessary to respond to a reality that exists on our streets” and would benefit the country’s economy.