The migration that (supposedly) doesn't fit: 50% are European

PalmThe Balearic Islands cannot continue to absorb the population increase they have experienced in recent years. This is the view of Prime Minister Marga Prohens, who, during the general policy debate, sought to highlight a fact that no islander ignores: the flood of new population arriving in the islands in recent decades. If the Government's proposal is to reduce the arrival of migrants, the first thing to do is analyze where this phenomenon comes from. According to data from the 2022 population register, half of the foreign residents of the Balearic Islands (108,585) were European.

"If the argument that we cannot take on as much new population as we have up to now is directed at foreigners, I understand that the Prime Minister does not want to differentiate between those who come from the north and those who have come from the south," notes UIB historian Pere Salas. If the political debate aims to attribute the problem of overcrowding to the arrival of irregular migrants, we must again turn to the figures: some 6,000 people will have arrived illegally in the Islands by 2025, a record, although "a good portion of these irregular migrants do not remain in the Islands." "This is, ultimately, an insignificant percentage compared to the foreign and mainland flows to the Balearic Islands," the historian concludes.

According to the census, foreigners of African origin living in the Islands represent less than half of the Europeans, 40,365, while those born in America number 57,259. The figures are overwhelming: half of the population increase experienced in recent decades, with the problems it has generated, corresponds to European citizens. "There's a small clarification here, because some Argentines may be listed as European, since they arrive with an Italian passport—up to the third generation of Italian descendants can enjoy their nationality—but that doesn't alter the numbers too much," Salas points out, adding that "the weight of Europeans in shaping the No. is a fact," he concludes.

If you follow the Prime Minister's line of argument regarding immigrants, it might seem that the focus is only on those who arrive with a clear need for work, and not on those who buy apartments and houses and settle there with a much more residential vocation. "We must be clear and we cannot fall into xenophobic rhetoric: we are all people, and it should be the same where a new resident comes from. It's true that we should be concerned about preserving culture and territory, but that is a challenge as a community, and we cannot differentiate based on people's origins," says Jesús González, professor of Geography.

Anti-immigration rhetoric

According to historian Pere Salas, Prohens' suggestion regarding the pressure on the territory from overpopulation "is defensible." "We must be able to find a balance. However, what we cannot do is fall into the discourse that is spreading in Europe, which is anti-immigration rhetoric, which in reality has nothing to do with reality. Europe needs immigrants from the south to work, for the economy to function. But this is not openly acknowledged, and what is done is, is what is done is, is what is done is, is what is done is, is what is done is, is what is done is, is what is done is, is what is done is, is what is done is, is what is being spread in Europe, which is anti-immigration rhetoric, which society must completely avoid," Salas emphasizes.

Migration experts consider the Balearic Islands to be the most significant case in Spain, with 47% of the current population not born in the islands. Of that figure, between 25% and 27% are citizens born abroad, the rest being from Spanish autonomous communities. Thus, there is a certain consensus among specialists about the "challenge posed by this reality." However, they do not believe the problems can be attributed to those who arrived by boat, who are a minority and, therefore, call for "rigor." "We have experienced the peninsular migration of the 1960s, then that which arrived with the first foreign residents, the real estate bubble, and now another significant wave, because there is once again a demand for labor. Immigration is linked to an economic model that needs people, wherever they come from, without discrimination based on convenience."

Use of public resources

Another recurring theme in political confrontations and on the streets is the attribution to migrants of a far greater consumption of public resources than is logical. "It's another fallacy. To begin with, a good portion of immigrants from the south arrive at working age, pay social security contributions, and, in many cases, no longer need to be educated. Their contribution is very positive and, in any case, it's what local society offers them," emphasizes Pere Salas. In his opinion, "all segments of the population gain something." "Employers hire them under often very fair conditions and contribute to their enrichment. Many of us residents ask them to take on tasks we can't or don't want to do, such as caring for the elderly. Insisting that we give them something that supposedly isn't theirs is simply a failure to face reality," he asserts.

Regarding natural resources, environmentalist and land specialist Neus Prats, spokesperson for GEN-GOB, insists that "we cannot discriminate based on origin in environmental matters." "In any case, if we want to ask who consumes the most water, we can look at the homes occupied by foreigners living on the Islands and we can quickly reach conclusions," he jokes. "The overpopulation problem we have, which we do have, I can assure you does not come by boat. Please, we have to be more serious. What we have to do is change the growth model based solely on consuming land. Let's not talk about migrants," he says.

Prats does believe that the Islands have a "serious saturation problem," and in this sense, he thinks it is right that Prohens raises this issue in the most important political debate of the year. "Where I think he's completely wrong is in trying to link this problem to the arrival of migrants. Let alone illegal immigrants, who are very few and fleeing situations of great suffering. What Prohens should do, if he's truly concerned about saturation, is reduce tourist and residential capacity. He can be sure that this will reduce the pressure on the territory," environmentalist.

Aporophobia

The Network for Social Inclusion (EAPN) of the Balearic Islands has also criticized on several occasions the fact that irregular migration is often used as a cause of problems in political debate. The organization's director, Andreu Grimalt, maintains that "no one is illegal anywhere" and criticizes the differentiation between refugees based on their origin. "When Ukrainian refugees arrive, institutions act with humanitarian logic; but when migrants from Algeria and sub-Saharan Africa arrive, there is talk of saturation or social danger." For this reason, Grimalt believes it is essential that politicians avoid incorporating into their discourse "the stigmatization of immigrants, whoever they may be and wherever they come from."

The organization, which brings together around twenty third-sector organizations, previously criticized some institutional proposals that point to irregular migrants as if they were a serious problem. The Network considers these attitudes "xenophobic, aporophobic, and exclusionary" and warns that an institutional narrative is taking hold that stigmatizes certain groups, especially migrants in vulnerable situations.