New reform of the Ley de extranjería
01 May 2003
On 23 May 2003, two days before the last local and regional elections, the Spanish government again used immigration as an electoral issue, passing a new reform of the Ley de extranjería (the Spanish immigration law), and using an urgent procedure to do so. The proposed changes can be grouped into five areas:
1.
Strengthening policies to control entry into the country by increasing the policing role of commercial carriers, particularly airlines, which will have to provide the police with passenger lists and other information before passengers board the flight. The same applies to the use of return tickets, as not using them will become a justification for denying future applications. To make these measures effective, carriers are obliged to take responsibility for the costs of returning people where entry is denied. The system of penalties is also toughened.
On 27 May, the Spanish came to an agreement with the Romanian government, under which bus companies travelling to Spain must provide the Spanish police with information on the passengers that they are about to carry.
2.
Changes to make expulsion easier, in cases where a migrant is charged or accused of crimes carrying a jail sentence of up to six years. It is not necessary to be found guilty, it is sufficient to be put on trial, even if the person is subsequently found to be innocent. Incarceration in a detention centre (Centro de Internamiento) is proposed while expulsion proceedings are underway, for a maximum period of 40 days.
3.
Strengthening controls on residence, particularly for irregular migrants (without valid residence or work permits) migrants who are on the official register (padrón) of the local council. Registration with a local council is necessary to access healthcare, social emergency aid and social security (renta básica). From now on this data will be passed to the police.
5.
Elevating aspects of the Regulation annulled by the Supreme Court to the status of law (see Statewatch vol 13 no 2).
6.
Modification of visa policy that will result in an increase on the control of entries.
Currently there are around 600,000 people in an irregular situation on Spanish territory. This is the highest figure ever, in spite of the government presenting its reforms as a means to end "illegal" immigration and to promote legal immigration. At the moment, there are practically no legal routes of entry.