Are the Spanish for or against Immigration?

Transcription

1 3174 Long March to the West 16/4/07 2:54 pm Page 152 Are the Spanish for or against Immigration? MARISA ORTÚN RUBIO 1 In order to understand how the Spanish react to immigration we need to take several factors into account: The sudden and unexpected growth of population Spain s population has grown by more than three million people from 2000 to 2005, that is, more than during the previous twenty years. Considering Spain s low reproduction rate, we know that the main reason for this increase is immigration. In 1981, there were 200,000 foreigners living in Spain; in 2001, there were more than one million. On 1 July 2006, according to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística, the number of people living in Spain was estimated at million, of whom 4.27 million were foreigners. For the period , in some regions the population of immigrants could be multiplied by a factor of four or five. Spain is considered an immigrant host country It has become a destination country for African and Latin American immigrants who are drawn to the country because of historical, cultural and linguistic links. Legal instability in migration matters José María Aznar of the Partido Popular led a government which was very restrictive in immigration matters foreigners had very few rights, and the rhetoric focused primarily on border security and cracking down on people smugglers. The year 2004 saw a change in government to that of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero of the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE) and a shift in focus to the more humanitarian aspects of immigration and its problems. This shift encouraged the regularization of immigrants as well as seeking more permanent solutions. Since 1985, there have been five laws enacted regarding foreigners, the last on 20 November 2003, which came into effect on 30 December Between 1991 and 2006, there have been eight regularization procedures (five from the Partido Popular, and three from the PSOE) in an attempt to deal with the increasing number of immigrants.

2 3174 Long March to the West 16/4/07 2:54 pm Page 153 ARE THE SPANISH FOR OR AGAINST IMMIGRATION? 153 The social visibility of immigrants has increased From 2001, events have been organized by the illegal immigrants and asylum seekers, for example, hunger strikes, and the occupation of churches. Previously, there had been only minor activity and people had not yet realized the extent of the problem.

3 3174 Long March to the West 16/4/07 2:54 pm Page THE LONG MARCH TO THE WEST This graph compares the numbers of immigrants in Spain and France and classifies them by their country of origin: This graph shows immigrants in Spain by their country of origin:

4 3174 Long March to the West 16/4/07 2:54 pm Page 155 ARE THE SPANISH FOR OR AGAINST IMMIGRATION? 155 Immigrants from Morocco account for 13.7 per cent of the migrant population; 13 per cent come from Equador. In 2001, immigration from Latin America increased by 580 per cent due to a catastrophic drop in GNP in 1999 with resulting sudden and widespread rise in poverty levels, the greatest ever experienced in the region. Romanians account for 8.5 per cent of immigrants, and Columbians 7.3 per cent from Columbia. A note on methodology: the numbers regarding immigration are problematic because of overlap. Registration for the census takes place at the civil council level in the community of residence. However, if someone relocates to another area, they are not necessarily deleted from their previous community s census rolls, as government grants are allocated based on the number of inhabitants in each council. Thus it is in the interest of the civil councils to revise upwards their census rolls, but this skews attempts for determining the true number of immigrants in any area, especially when attempting to discuss illegal immigration. Estimates have made of 700, million immigrants, based on those registered in civil councils, or those who have not yet obtained a residence permit. Some regions present high percentages of immigrant in their populations: the Balearic Islands have 16 per cent, Madrid 13 per cent, Murcia, Catalonia and Valencia approximately 12 per cent; other regions have lower rates: Asturias, Extremadura and Galicia have 2.5 per cent. The highest rates in

5 3174 Long March to the West 16/4/07 2:54 pm Page THE LONG MARCH TO THE WEST immigrant population density are found on the Mediterranean coast and in Madrid, that is, in the economically dynamic zones, part of whose vitality is due to input from the underground economy, which attracts cheap labour. The case concerning Catalonia is a specific one. According to census findings released 1 July 2006, the number of immigrants had been multiplied five-fold in the past six years. Of these, 34 per cent are estimated to be illegal immigrants. This is a new phenomenon concerning Catalonia s population, per cent of whom are foreigners. This has a structural impact on the population as its average age is lowered, by the influx of younger immigrants, as well as an impact on the character of the region one-third of Catalonia s immigrants originate from Latin America. A study published by the Ministry of Work in February 2002 classified foreigners according to the way they entered the country: 62 per cent arrived by plane; 28 per cent by ship; 5 per cent by car; 2 per cent by train; 2 per cent by small water-craft, and 1 per cent by other means. What is striking here is the distance covered by a small minority of migrants who travelled by pateras or cayucos (small boats, or canoes which carry around ten people). The migrants leave the Maghreb or Sub-Saharan Africa, passing across the Strait of Gibraltar, or by travelling from the Senegalese coast to the Canary Islands. Very often these trips end in tragedy, with some gaining wide media coverage: 101 bodies were reported found and 109 reported missing in 2003; in 2004 there were 81 found and 60 missing. many more go unreported. In 2002, 12,600 Moroccans arrived in Spain via pateras but were immediately repatriated, in accordance with Spain s agreement on readmission with Rabat; 9,000 Sub-Saharan Africans arrived in the Canary Islands. In 2003, 19,000 Moroccans crossed the Strait of Gibraltar. Thousands of Sub-Saharans arrived on the Canary Islands and Aznar s government ordered the transfer of those people to the Peninsula, the NGOs signing some agreements with the authorities to finance the task. These arrivals mark a disturbing development: many are minors who arrive having no host family; they cannot be evicted and are attracted to cities well known for their football clubs, such as Madrid and Barcelona. Some end up being supported by NGOs or other organizations, or by the individual Regions, or they end up in the streets, adding to the growing levels of petty criminality. From January to August 2006, there was extensive media coverage of the dramatic arrival of 28,000 people via cayucos along the Canary Island coastline, which inundated the country s infrastructure. Nearly 12,000 people were transferred to the Peninsula, 10,000 were fed and sheltered by the NGOs, and only 20 per cent were attended by the individual Regions. In general, if there are no agreements on repatriation with their country of origin, migrants are transferred to Regions of the Peninsula which have given their authorization.

6 3174 Long March to the West 16/4/07 2:54 pm Page 157 ARE THE SPANISH FOR OR AGAINST IMMIGRATION? 157 In August 2006, Catalonia protested when planes started to arrive there with large numbers of immigrants that the community was unable to accommodate. There had also been a refusal from the Partido Popular-run Region of Rioja. It is likely that the rhetoric of the political parties and official institutions had for a long time been marked by a certain mix of tolerance and goodnatured recognition after all, wasn t Spain a country of emigrants thirty years ago? But the numbers given by the NGOs for hosting and integrating immigrants are astonishing. In 2006, the NGOs received 6.5 million to help with the tide of immigrants; in 2007, the budget increased by 100 per cent. The political parties voted for an increase of 50 per cent in grants to the Regions: 15 million to humanitarian relief; 10 million to minors; 15 million to integration and educational actions. The Representation of the Citizens With all this, there is a crucial question: how do Spanish people feel about this policy of facilitating integration? During , some studies showed that people were harbouring doubts. The impression given was that people were reluctant to reveal their feelings of hostility, which are masked by declarations of altruism and generosity. The opinion polls of the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS) shown below indicate some very distinct realities: unemployment, immigration and terrorism seem to be the three major issues that worry Spanish citizens. OPINION POLL 2005: IMMIGRATION SEEN AS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PROBLEMS FACING SPANISH SOCIETY 2005 Percentage Position January February March April May June July September October November December

7 3174 Long March to the West 16/4/07 2:54 pm Page THE LONG MARCH TO THE WEST In 2000, 43 per cent considered immigration as a positive feature, 24 per cent thought differently; 51 per cent believed that the increase of delinquency was linked to immigration, as against 35 per cent who did not. According to the opinion polls of the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas, in May 2006, 27.7 per cent of people interviewed considered immigration to be the country s biggest problem; by July, that number had increased to 38 per cent, and by September, 59.2 per cent. Everyone agreed that the images people were being fed on a daily basis by the media, of waves of Sub-Saharan Africans arriving on the shores of the Canary Islands, had a negative impact on opinions. In May 2006, a Gallup opinion poll for El Mundo reported that people thought: There are too many immigrants: 69.1 per cent. The massive regularization of immigrants in 2005 made people react 70.2 per cent against, with 18.1 per cent considering that the number was a satisfactory one, while 2.5 per cent said there should be more immigration. Those in favour of a quota system, dependent on the needs of the labour market: 83 per cent. In July 2006, a survey was conducted in Catalonia, which was published in El Diario de León in July 2006, and extrapolated for all of Spain. It revealed that: Nine out of ten people interviewed believed there are too many immigrants. Regularization should continue: 16 per cent. There should be stricter control at the borders: 59 per cent. Smugglers should be repatriated: 20 per cent. In an Internet survey conducted in September 2006 for the daily newspaper La Vanguardia, 58.6 per cent were against imposing stricter legislation on immigration, while 40.2 per cent were in favour (with 37,655 people participating). By early December 2006, this number had changed, with 58.4 per cent voting for more strict controls (with 38,232 people participating). However, according to the postings on the Internet forum which the newspaper had started, people had lost interest in the debate surrounding this subject. According to the responses received by the market research group APPEND, and published by La Vanguardia on 22 October 2006:

8 3174 Long March to the West 16/4/07 2:54 pm Page 159 ARE THE SPANISH FOR OR AGAINST IMMIGRATION? 159 Immigration does not contribute to economic growth: 43 per cent agreed. There is a correlation between immigration and a breakdown in law and order: 73 per cent. Immigration is perceived as a danger for the country: 32.5 per cent People should be able to live in any country no matter what one s origins: 50 per cent. Spanish people are worried about mixed (Spanish immigrant) schooling: 27.2 per cent.

9 3174 Long March to the West 16/4/07 2:54 pm Page THE LONG MARCH TO THE WEST The figures published by the Observatorio Permanente de la Immigración, on the basis of interviews and meetings with the inhabitants of neighbourhoods which have a significant number of immigrants, are even more interesting. Immigrants tend to settle down in town centres, that is, in old and decaying flats and other properties; in this way, they contribute to maintaining a certain dynamism in the property market: the owners tend to sell to immigrants in order to buy better properties elsewhere. This explains the concentration of immigrants in the centre of Madrid and in Barcelona. The interviews and meetings that took place in show that immigration was perceived to be a problem by all the survey participants. This geopolitical concentration in the town centres is likely to have consequences, such as the emergence of populist anti-immigrant groups and organizations. Interviewees concerns were expressed as falling into the following categories: Feeling Invaded Even if statistics do not make the difference between permanent stock and a flow of immigrants (or people simply passing through or returning), the population has the general feeling that waves of people are invading the country. Public Health Issues A majority of Spanish people believe that social and welfare services should be reserved for local people. Many Spaniards often condemn the fact that social health care is granted to illegal immigrants, that children from immigrant families go to the same school as Spanish children, and that they receive any available social assistance from the state. National Identity Some newspapers report on what they call Spain s suicide. Despite the fact that Spain is a conglomeration of Regions which take pride in their individual identities, the argument here concerns a collective memory and national cohesion which it is felt could slip into extinction. Access to Spanish nationality can be perceived as something very difficult to achieve. However, foreigners can apply for nationality after having lived in the country for ten years, while political refugees can apply after five years. Immigrants coming from Latin America, Andorra, the Philippines, Guinea Equatorial, Portugal and Israelis can apply after two years residency. After one

10 3174 Long March to the West 16/4/07 2:54 pm Page 161 ARE THE SPANISH FOR OR AGAINST IMMIGRATION? 161 year, children born in Spain of foreign parents, and foreigners married to a Spanish citizen can apply for Spanish citizenship (Legislation has become more strict in order to prevent someone gaining Spanish citizenship through an unconsummated marriages, that is, marriages of convenience.) In some sectors, public opinion claims that nationality is granted by a simple administrative act, without taking into account the origins of the individual seeking citizenship, their culture, or their attitude towards Spanish history and institutions, with resulting doubtful consequences for national cohesion. Immigration: A Time Bomb For the time being, circumstances are favourable for immigration and the report of the government s Economic Bureau (15 November 2006), as well as the La Caixa Report (August 2006), underline the positive impact of immigration on the Spanish economy. However, if Spain were to suffer a recession, the crisis would be considerable. Indeed, though presently there is hardly any competition concerning low-skilled jobs, the media and the press declare that the job market can t possibly absorb any more immigrants. Others believe the contrary. The Fear of Islam Spain is a non-religious state, as stipulated in its Constitution of However, Catholicism is very important in Spain and consequently a question arises here concerning the relation between Catholicism and Islam. In 1979, Spain signed the Saint-Siege Agreements concerning Spanish law, education, culture, armed forces, and the financing of the Church. Latin American immigrants, traditionally practicing Catholics and wanting Catholic education for their children, reinforce this state support of the Church. Spanish Muslims are still a minority only 2 per cent of the population; however, the image the Spaniards have of Muslim immigrants from the Maghreb is a very negative one. Historically speaking, Islam is considered to be a conquering religion. When Granada fell in 1492 and consequently the Muslims lost al-andalusia, this was felt as a collective trauma; Muslims, wanting to reintegrate Spain into the umma, attempted to regain their Spanish territories and restore their hegemony. Public awareness of this history has increased, especially since the Madrid bombings of 11 March Some writers pronounce that Muslim immigrants will become instruments in the hands of the jihadists; these ideas prevail against all the associations which fight for tolerance and integration which wish to distinguish themselves from the fundamentalist imams. Some

11 3174 Long March to the West 16/4/07 2:54 pm Page THE LONG MARCH TO THE WEST forums for citizen participation indicate the rise of a new phenomenon: Islamophobia, and the accompanying conviction that Muslims want to start a war against Spain. This fear of Islam leads to xenophobia and to racism, though there are as yet no official data on the spread of such a phenomenon, though there are often articles in the press about this. There has been some local resistance to the spread of Islam, for example, in Andalusia and in Catalonia, where there has been some outcry against the construction of mosques. In Madrid, the association Iniciativa Habitable is attempting, via its Internet website, to mobilize the inhabitants of various communities ; it plans to put up candidates in the municipal elections of 2007, though the majority of citizens would not identify themselves with the group s rhetoric and institutional policy. The programme of the association includes the following measures: In general, stricter control of immigration; Eviction of immigrants who have no residence permit; Abolition of any legal assistance for smugglers; The protection of citizens and their interests, as well as support for small and medium sized enterprises; National preference in terms of social rights; Benefits granted to Spanish families who are in need, provision of social assistance which is supposedly only granted to immigrants ; Expulsion of violent children from schools and an end to the policy of grouping violent children in special centres; A limit on free health care for immigrants; Special taxes on money transfers abroad, in order to avoid the flight of capital towards the immigrants countries of origin; No right to vote for immigrants; No automatic granting of nationality, whether after years of residence or because of birth in Spain; Control of marriages of convenience. The future will reveal if the demands of this programme, which highlights frustrations among the Spanish population, will meet with any success; on the other hand, what is certain about these measures is that at least some of them are likely to appear in other parties political programmes in order to gain

12 3174 Long March to the West 16/4/07 2:54 pm Page 163 ARE THE SPANISH FOR OR AGAINST IMMIGRATION? 163 votes. Basically, indigenous Spaniards consider themselves entitled to certain social rights, such as religion, Spanish land, culture, and so on; certainly they are indeed part of, and will contribute to, this future. The rejection of immigration may act as a unifying principle. Marisa Ortún Rubio is a historian with the Spanish Consular Service in Paris.