Spain's Migration U-Turn Looks Increasingly Likely As Amnesty Backlash Mounts

Spain's socialist government has made what Michael Heaver calls a dreadful mistake and the scale of it is now becoming clear. The Spanish authorities originally planned to grant legal status to around 500,000 people living in the country illegally. The police warned the real number could reach 1 million. They were right: around 900,000 illegal migrants are now seeking legal status in Spain, with that figure potentially set to exceed 1 million. 360,000 temporary work permits have already been granted since April.The Spanish people themselves don't seem thrilled. In recent elections across Spain, the socialist government has been pummeled in the polls, with Vox and the Conservative Popular Party forming alliances and administrations across regions including Extremadura, Andalusia and Aragon.As Michael Heaver argues, the policy is likely to act as a massive pull factor drawing even more illegal migration into Spain. And with those granted legal status eventually able to obtain EU passports and travel freely across the bloc, the consequences extend well beyond Spain's borders.