Over the past 10 years, however, it has become clear to many European nations that an open door approach to migration is unsustainable. Countries such as Sweden, Finland and Italy, have completely reversed course and now do everything in their power to mitigate the effects of mass immigration and have introduced anti-immigration measures. While the influx of non-EU citizens has not slowed down, asylum-seeking has been replaced by family reunification as the primary reason for admittance. As the absorption capacity of Western European countries is stretched to the limit and the dissatisfaction of their citizens is constantly growing, most countries have begun to question their open policy towards migration.  

Spain, however, remains one of the few European countries that continues to resist the broader trend of tightening border controls. Their current approach continues to demonstrate a clear policy of openness and acceptance of mass migration. The Spanish government, led by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, argues that open borders remain the most effective means of boosting economic prosperity and demographic growth. According to the Prime Minister, Spain had to choose between being an open and prospering country or a closed and poor one. In his view, embracing migration is the only realistic chance to achieve economic growth and improve birth rates. 

Prime Minister Sanchez often refers to Spain’s very low birth rates as demanding immediate attention and rapid solutions. Thus the government’s view to migration is not to stop mass migration but in the words of the Prime Minister, “The key is managing it well!”. Yet, the question remains: How to manage it well? 

For the Spanish government, managing migration well means streamlining the migration process by simplifying the procedure for receiving their residency permit or “red card”. This red card status is an asylum seeker status that allows migrants to stay in Spain legally and access social benefits such as health care. The burden of thousands of newly registered people, who are now in possession of these red cards, has put a huge strain on Spain’s social welfare system. 

The excessive immigration the Spanish government has encouraged, places an approximately 30.000-million-euro expense on the State, as the government supports more than a million unemployed immigrants and family members who enjoy public benefits. In addition to Spain’s already high unemployment rate, the country now hosts over 10 million foreign-born individuals, which represent more than 22% of Spain’s total population. 

Despite these increasing burdens, the flow of immigration continues. The government’s ''distinctive'' approach has already resulted in more than 11,000 new arrivals to Spain in this year alone, while tens of thousands of people have landed in recent months, mostly from Morocco. On land or by sea, the Spanish exclaves in Morocco, the Canary and Balearic Islands receive hundreds of people daily. 

While the foundations of the Spanish government's approach to immigration appear to be innovative and well thought out, however, the actual mechanism is not going as planned. Spain has become the EU's sponge for absorbing illegal migrants. The mass arrival of people of vastly different religious and cultural background not only raises the usual problems of housing and public support, but also introduces civilizational clashes, especially in traditionally homogenous. Furthermore, immigration as a tool to improve birth rates remains questionable, as numbers have shown that that it only offers a temporary mitigation of demographic deficit. 

Although the government has turned accepting mass migration into a national duty, and has actively painting a positive picture of the phenomenon, reality shows that efforts to integrate and incorporate migrants into the labor market have only had limited success. Thus, the "reformative and innovative" Spanish immigration strategy has become yet another example of what happens when a country opens its borders to uncontrolled migration.

Sources: 

https://migrant-integration.ec.europa.eu/news/spain-new-immigration-reform-enhance-migrant-integration_en

https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/11/21/spain-to-grant-residency-and-work-permits-to-around-300000-undocumented-migrants-per-year

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/spains-sanchez-touts-benefits-migration-european-neighbours-tighten-borders-2024-10-09/

https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/54235/morocco-intercepts-over-1100-migrants-near-spains-ceuta-and-melilla-exclaves

https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/europe-sea-arrivals/location/24567https://gaceta.es/espana/el-exceso-de-inmigracion-representa-un-gasto-anual-para-el-estado-superior-a-los-30-000-millones-de-euros-20250111-1222/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/09/pedro-sanchez-unveils-plans-to-make-it-easier-for-migrants-to-settle-in-spain

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/09/pedro-sanchez-unveils-plans-to-make-it-easier-for-migrants-to-settle-in-spain

https://lexdocuments.com/tarjeta-roja-espana/