Spain gets tough on immigration

By Robin Oakley, CNN.com European Political Editor

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Spain has broken ranks with its European neighbours and introduced hardline measures in an attempt to stifle the tens of thousands of illegal immigrants entering the country each year.

The return flight of 50 Ecuadoreans this week, to allow them to pick up the correct permit papers -- or face expulsion -- is the first such step in Europe.

Other tough provisions under Spain's new Aliens Act include a ban on illegal immigrants joining unions, and exclusion from housing aid and schooling.

The hardline Spanish policy of returning Ecuadoreans runs counter to the immigration policies being adopted across most of Europe.

Most European countries are acknowledging the need to manage, rather than to ban immigration, in order to cope with skills and labour shortages.

Longer term, European leaders are acknowledging the need for big increases in immigration into the EU.

France’s former Interior Minister Jean-Pierre Chevenement says that as many as 50 million to 75 million people will be needed over 50 years to fill jobs and sustain the pensions of Europe’s elderly.

The Aliens Act in Spain was pushed through by the conservative government of Joseph Maria Aznar following concerns about crime and local unrest triggered by the presence of migrant foreign workers.

Interior Minister Jaime Mayor Oreja has underlined Spain’s determination to get tough with the Mafias who smuggle in illegal immigrants.

But many of the immigrants have been in Spain for years and it is doubtful if the country has the travelling workforce available without them to sustain its fruit and wine-making industries.

The government’s action has provoked sit-ins and hunger strikes by immigrants and political sympathisers.

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Spanish push for tougher immigrant laws
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International Organisation for Migration
Spanish Government (in Spanish)

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