SPAIN - Half Million Undocumented Migrants

There were long lines at registration points across Spain as applications opened under a new amnesty program expected to see at least 500,000 undocumented migrants gain legal status to stay and work in the country.

The Spanish think tank Funcas says, according to the Reuters news agency, there are likely some 840,000 undocumented people working in Spain.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has framed the policy as both a moral and economic necessity, arguing that many undocumented workers are already embedded in Spain’s economy, and working in key sectors without legal protections.

The amnesty, he says, will safeguard those workers and help sustain Spain’s economy and aging population.

-www.cbsnews.com, 22 April 2026

Commentary: Spain is the second largest country in the European Union, and boasts the third highest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Spain is also known for its vast olive tree plantations, producing about 40% of the world’s olive oil.

Quite interestingly, life expectancy for Spaniards stands at 84.1 years, compared to 79 years in the USA.

But as an industrialized nation, they experience the same issues that others do: an influx of “undocumented migrants.”

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez—incidentally, not a friend of Israel—sees economic reality square in the eye: These “illegal immigrants” contribute significantly to Spain’s economy, yet as the article states, they are “without legal protections.”

That is the politically bitter pill many countries have to swallow, because of their native population’s decline. Thus, foreigners are urgently needed to replace vacant workplaces.

For 2026, France remains the world’s most visited country with over 100 million visitors. It is closely followed by Spain, with 85-97 million visitors.

Regardless of one’s opinion, global travel is popular, and so is globalism supplying needed workers for countries with an aging population.

(See Progressive Globalism, Item #1092, $5.50.)