Analysis: Most undocumented migrants in Spain not Africans on boats but working Latinos

"Spain's government approved a decree on Tuesday which will see more than 500,000 undocumented migrants given the right to work and reside legally in the country. It aims to "guarantee rights and give legal certainty to an existing social reality", meaning it will seek to legalise the situation of around half a million illegal migrants already living in Spain who can prove they have a connection to the country."

"According to the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, headed up by Elma Saiz, it "reinforces" a migration policy model "based on human rights, integration and coexistence, compatible with economic growth and social cohesion. Q&A: How Spain's mass regularisation of undocumented migrants will work The mass regularisation of undocumented migrants is nothing new in Spain. It's been done several times before, including by the centre-right People's Party (PP) Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, who in 2000 and 2001 allowed 503,000 migrants"

"Nonetheless, the modern day PP, now in opposition to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's ruling Socialists (PSOE), along with elements of the right-wing Spanish media, have portrayed the regularisation as an attempt to redefine Spanish demography and fix elections for future Socialists victories despite the fact none of the people set to benefit from the measure will be able to vote in general elections."

Spain's government approved a decree to legalise more than 500,000 undocumented migrants, granting them the right to work and reside legally. The measure seeks to guarantee rights and provide legal certainty for people who can prove a connection to Spain. The Ministry of Inclusion describes the policy as reinforcing a migration model based on human rights, integration and coexistence, compatible with economic growth and social cohesion. Mass regularisation has precedent: in 2000–2001 about 503,000 migrants were regularised. Political opponents and some media frame the measure as demographic or electoral engineering, although none of the beneficiaries will gain the right to vote.

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