"They're already here": the government delegate denies that the regularization of migrants will create a pull factor

PalmThe Spanish government's delegate in the Balearic Islands, Alfonso Rodríguez, denied on Tuesday that the extraordinary regularization of undocumented migrants, which the Pedro Sánchez administration intends to implement, would create a pull factor, as applicants will be required to have resided in Spain for at least five months. "It's about providing a solution for people who are already here," he emphasized, according to the EFE news agency. Rodríguez was responding to criticism from the regional president, Marga Prohens, whom he accused of adopting "the far-right's migration policies." Rodríguez stressed that the extraordinary regularization is "a courageous measure" to guarantee the socio-labor rights of hundreds of thousands of people. He also noted that the process will begin in April and is expected to take three months, although applicants can begin working legally fifteen days after their applications are accepted. This is the seventh mass regularization—the PSOE carried out four and the PP two, in 2000 and 2001. Rodríguez indicated that the Immigration Department in the Balearic Islands is currently processing 10,800 regularization applications under the current regulations. This would represent the minimum number of people who would benefit from the extraordinary process. According to Spanish government data, there are 102,000 foreigners registered with Social Security in the Balearic Islands, of whom approximately 60,000 are from non-EU countries. The delegate emphasized that regularization "benefits workers, who gain in rights and obligations; companies, which gain in legal certainty; and it helps in the fight against the underground economy."