The Spanish parliament took the first legislative step towards approving a citizens' initiative, #RegularizaciónYa, which calls for the regularisation of half a million undocumented foreigners living in Spain since before 1 November 2021. The campaign has received 700 000 signatures and has the support of more than 900 NGOs.
NGOs supporting the project are highlighting the work of irregular migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic in sectors essential for society, such as caring for the elderly, delivering food to homes or harvesting fruit and vegetables. Campaigners have said that failure to 'regularise' this group of migrants would violate their fundamental rights, prevent them from contributing to society and make it impossible to plan and develop the public services necessary for all citizens.
Minister for Inclusion, Social Security and Migration Elma Saiz (PSOE) said she is “absolutely in favour” of the initiative and noted that her party will submit amendments to improve the text.
The #RegularizaciónYa initiative is made up of the Fundación para la Ciudadanía Global, Fundación Por Causa, Red de Entidades para el Desarrollo Solidario (REDES), Alianza para la Solidaridad and Por un Mundo Más Justo party. It was launched in 2021 with a major campaign to collect signatures throughout Spain. In February 2023, the Central Electoral Board ratified that the document had collected half a million signatures needed to start the approval process in parliament.
Details
- Publication dates
- Geographic area
- Spain
- Source
- Posted by