The Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, defended this Wednesday the extraordinary regularization of immigrants promoted by the Government. In an interview with RNE, Saiz regretted that the Popular Party now criticizes the measure despite the fact that in the past it supported similar initiatives, even from La Moncloa, and has disfigured the proposal supported by Vox and PP that links immigration with terrorism. According to the Government spokesperson, the party led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo is “subject” to agreements made by the extreme right.
During the defense of the presentation promoted by the PP, debated at noon this Tuesday, the popular deputy Rafael Hernando anticipated that the effects of the process will be “terrible for Spanish security.” “Terrorism has viciously marked countries like Spain, France and the United Kingdom, which is why half of Europe criticizes what this Government is doing,” he said in the Constitutional Chamber of Congress.
With 20 votes in favor, nine against and no abstentions, Popular and Vox—which have an absolute majority in the commission, made up of deputies and senators—approved a report for the Cortes to study “the entire process” of regularization and then “submit its conclusions to the Chamber.”
Saiz also recalled that this is an internal and national procedure, and that it will only guarantee the right of residence and work within Spain, as the European Commission has already indicated. Regarding this, he stressed that the decision is made within a framework of dialogue with the European Union. Asked about the immigration policy of other Member States, the Government spokesperson recalled that Spain’s policy is a “beacon” for the rest of the world.
The latest draft of the regularization decree, to which this newspaper had access, announces the opening of windows in the Post Office and Social Security offices to receive applications for residence and work permits from more than half a million people who today are in an irregular situation in Spain. Some sources estimate that it could be closer to a million. Saiz has stressed that the Executive is following the “scheduled procedure” and that they will seek to make it an “agile” process and within the planned schedule. That is, before June 30.
Asked about the decision, reported by EL PAÍS, to put an end in June to the route that since 2018 has allowed tens of thousands of Venezuelans to regularize their situation almost automatically, Saiz recalled that the news should be read knowing that the extraordinary regularization process is on the table, which will also include Venezuelan citizens. The minister has denied that the process is made difficult for Venezuelans: “Not in substance, but in ways.”
