Fierce migration debate in Spain
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has concluded a three-day trip to Africa, where migration was one of the main topics during talks with the governments of Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia. The arrival of refugees is a major bone of contention in Spain, as a glance at the national press shows.
Immigration is not an abstract issue
El País warns:
“Sánchez has contributed to the ambiguity of the debate by linking security with the 'absolute' necessity of returning irregular immigrants. ... This is playing with fire, because in Europe experience has shown that when major parties adopt the simplistic explanations of the far right, it's the far right that benefits. Immigration is being portrayed as an abstract issue, while the concrete problems resulting from it are not being addressed. The reception centres in the Canary Islands and Ceuta are still overwhelmed. ... The assumption that brutality at the border, criminalisation and xenophobia would stop the attempts of thousands of people who simply don't want to die is absurd.”
The debate has gone off the rails
Various forces are trying to make political capital out of migration, La Vanguardia warns:
“One can argue about how the arrival and integration of immigrants should take place and denounce the chaotic situation of thousands of foreigners living in an administrative quagmire. What is beyond doubt, however, is that Spain needs labour. ... It is a pity that the debate on this important issue is marked by the usual confrontation between right and left. In just three months, all this noise has caused the issue of immigration to climb from ninth to fourth place among Spaniards' key concerns. This issue always pays electoral dividends. ... Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen know that. And it will be no different in Spain.”
Seek consensus on integration
A completely different debate is needed, El Periódico de Catalunya insists:
“The key topic is less how they arrive than how they integrate. ... There are two basic models: assimilation and multiculturalism. ... Spain tends to adopt the multicultural model, but more out of inertia than conviction. ... The time has come to seek a consensus on integration.”