US embassy cable - 05MADRID517

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MADRID 000517 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/WE, CA/EX AND CA/FPP; ALSO FOR 
CA/OCS/ACS/EUR/WE, CA/VO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, SMIG, CMGT, CASC, CVIS, KFRD, SP, Other 
SUBJECT: SPAIN OFFERS AMNESTY TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS 
 
REF: 04 STATE 3701 
 
1.  (SBU) Spain's illegal immigrant population has multiplied 
three-fold over the last five years, from 300,000 to nearly 
one million.  Now, new Spanish immigration measures taking 
effect February 7 through May 7 could grant amnesty to as 
many as one million illegal immigrants currently working in 
Spain.  The new measures require that illegal aliens be 
registered in a Spanish municipality, have no criminal 
record, and present a job contract for a time period 
determined by their occupation.  The Government has already 
agreed to waive the requirement that embassies authenticate 
police records for some nationals.  It also faces deporting 
massive numbers of unsuccessful immigrant applicants. 
Several EU members, including Germany, Holland, France and 
the UK have criticized the GOS for not discussing its 
immigration reform within the European Union.  The opposition 
Popular Party slammed the amnesty program, accusing President 
Zapatero of encouraging more illegal immigration.  The new 
immigration policy promises to raise immigration challenges 
that reach far beyond Spain's borders, but the GOS believes 
this measure is a necessary solution in the short term.  End 
summary. 
 
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Spain Proposes Immigration Reforms 
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3.  (U) Since 1986, Spain has reformed its immigration laws 
six times.  Approximately 631,000 immigrants have obtained 
residence or work permits since the first amnesty program in 
1986, according to government statistics.  In December 2004, 
the Spanish government passed legislation drafted by the 
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MLSA) that modified its 
Foreign Alien's Law and opened an amnesty period for 
immigrants who are currently in Spain illegally.  Officials 
developed these new immigration laws after meeting with 
business and workers unions in October 2004 (reftel).  The 
government's goal was to eliminate Spain's black market 
economy for immigrant labor and to reduce the flow of illegal 
immigration into Spain by facilitating legal immigration for 
those already in the country. 
 
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The New Immigration Requirements 
-------------------------------- 
 
4.  (U) Spain's new immigration measures open a three-month 
legalization process between February 7 and May 7, offering 
amnesty to illegal immigrants who fulfill certain residence 
and employment requirements.  Under the measures, illegal 
aliens must show that they were registered in a Spanish 
municipality prior to August 7, 2004 (six months before the 
implementation of the law) and have no criminal record in 
Spain or in their country of origin.  Most applicants are 
also required to present a job offer assuring a minimum of 
six months employment.  Agricultural workers require a 
three-month contract; construction and hotel service workers 
qualify with aggregate work experience over a period of one 
year; and domestic workers must show proof that they work a 
minimum of 30 hours per week. 
 
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Concerns About The New Process 
----------------------------- 
 
5.  (U) The GOS has enlisted 160 social security offices to 
help implement the new law, and Spanish immigration 
authorities have tried to manage the anticipated high demand 
for immigrant petitions.  Director General of Consular 
Affairs Miguel Angel de Frutos told Emboffs January 28 that 
the GOS expects only a relatively small number to qualify 
successfully.  Managing those illegal aliens who apply but do 
not qualify for amnesty is also problematic.  By law, illegal 
immigrants should be deported within fifteen days after their 
petition for permanent residency is denied.  De Frutos said 
the MLSA was discussing how to deal with family members of 
those who do not qualify under the new program.  Because 
employers must petition, and subsequently pay full salary and 
benefits to currently undocumented workers, there are 
economic disincentives to petitioning for undocumented 
employees. 
 
6.  (U) Angel de Frutos acknowledged that other diplomats at 
foreign missions have told him that they have been unable to 
handle the large number of nationals who have requested 
police records and other documents.  De Frutos said that the 
Ecuadorian ambassador pleaded with him to revise the 
requirements before the large crowds became unmanageable. 
(According to government statistics, Ecuador has the largest 
immigrant population in Madrid (175,515 residents), followed 
by Colombia (71,693) and Morocco (61,108).  On the first day 
of program, immigration officials collected 1,500 petitions 
nationwide, falling far short of their expectation of 12,000 
applications per day.  The low turn-out was likely due to 
delays in processing foreign police records and in obtaining 
full local documentation. 
 
7.  (U) The opposition Popular Party has criticized the 
Socialist-led government's immigration plan as ill-advised 
and likely to stimulate further illegal immigration to Spain. 
 The amnesty issue could become a more important political 
issue as Spaniards begin to take greater notice of the 
growing immigrant population. 
 
EU concerns 
----------- 
 
8.  (U) Spain's immigration plan reportedly was criticized at 
the EU Justice and Interior Minister's meeting held February 
4 in Luxembourg as creating a pull factor for illegal 
immigration into Europe.  According to Spanish press reports, 
German Interior Minister Otto Schilly and Dutch Immigration 
Affairs Minister Rita Verdonk commented that the Spanish 
Government should have considered the consequences of its new 
immigration policy within the EU and consulted with its 
partners before implementing the amnesty program.  France 
warned that Spain's immigration policy could increase 
criminal mafias in Europe.   Interior Ministry State 
Secretary for Security Antonio Camacho, who attended the EU 
 
SIPDIS 
meeting, responded to the EU critics by stating that Spain's 
immigration plan was "intelligent" because it could guarantee 
quality employment and adequate living conditions for those 
illegal aliens who currently lacked them. 
 
Effect on U.S. consular services 
-------------------------------- 
 
9.  (U) All eight U.S. consular offices in Spain are 
receiving an increase in calls from American citizens 
inquiring how to apply for amnesty under the new process. 
Embassy Madrid has been getting numerous calls per day on the 
program from Amcits.  There are no firm figures on the number 
of Amcits who may qualify for residency permits under the 
program.  However, on the first day of the program alone, ACS 
Madrid received 120 inquires.  Since then the Madrid consular 
staff drafted talking points on how to respond to American 
callers and distributed these points to ConGen Barcelona and 
all six consular agencies in the country.  Requests for 
fingerprints and inquiries about obtaining criminal/police 
records and Hague apostilles abound. 
-------------------------- 
The Changing Face of Spain 
-------------------------- 
 
10.  (U) Increased immigration continues to change the 
dynamics of Spanish society.  Between 2001 and 2005, the 
population of illegal immigrants has increased from 300,000 
to nearly one million.  EU statistics show that in 2003 alone 
Spain's population grew by about 650,000 to 42.2 million, 
with 92% percent of the growth due to immigration. 
Immigrants now make up approximately 7.5% of the Spanish 
population, and statistics from the National Institute of 
Statistics (INE) project the percentage could reach 10% by 
2008.  According to the INE, in 2003, the number of children 
born to foreign mothers accounted for 12.2% of all births in 
Spain.  Since 2000, birth rates among Spanish immigrants have 
increased an average of 28% per year while the birth rate of 
Spanish natives was 2% per year. 
 
11.  (U)  Spain's economic growth in recent years has created 
a new demand for immigrant labor, especially in construction 
and agriculture.  The Center for Sociological Investigation 
noted in November 2004 that Spaniards placed immigration 
issues third in the list of concerns they had about Spain's 
future, behind unemployment and terrorism.  However, the 
director of the MFA's Cabinet of Analysis and Policy 
Planning, Fernando Sendagorta, said that controlling the 
influx of new immigrants would be Spain's number one concern 
in the coming years.  Enclaves of illegal immigrant workers 
have so far co-existed peacefully beside native Spanish 
communities.  However, as the numbers of immigrants increase, 
Spain could expect to see social and economic clashes between 
immigrants and natives come to the fore. 
 
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Comment 
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12.  (SBU) The GOS will be challenged to manage one of the 
most ambitious immigration amnesty programs in its history. 
Clearly, managing a nationwide immigration process with an 
estimated one million illegal petitions will tax the GOS's 
immigration administration.  Foreign embassies with large 
illegal immigrant communities in Spain, such as Ecuador, 
Colombia, and Morocco, are also confronting concerns about 
increased workload associated with the amnesty program. 
Should the GOS offer a "second" amnesty to immigrants who do 
not qualify, it could raise further concerns among Spain's EU 
partners on the issue.  Spain's new immigration policy is 
likely to encourage dramatic changes in the country's 
demography and economy and also have consequences on 
immigration controls in many other EU countries over the long 
term.  This is likely to trigger friction between Spanish 
citizens and the growing immigrant community, especially if 
there is a downturn in the economy. 
MANZANARES