Migrations - [03/06/2009]

The number of immigrants arriving in Spain falls for the first time in a decade

For the first time in 10 years, the number of immigrants arriving in Spain has fallen, and the figures for 2008 suggest that this is the beginning of a trend. This was the diagnosis with which Consuelo Rumí, Secretary of State for Immigration and Expatriate Affairs summarised the current migration scenario at the presentation of the latest Immigration in Spain Yearbook, published by the CIDOB Foundation in collaboration with the José Ortega y Gasset Foundation, Barcelona Provincial Council, the Jaume Bofill Foundation, the Institute of Public Law, Unicaja and the National Council of Chambers of Commerce.

Consuelo Rumí confirmed the forecast when she declared that a decrease had been observed in incoming flows in 2008: during that year, 50,000 employment authorisations fewer were issued than in the previous year, and the number of family reunifications fell by 30,000. The Secretary of State stressed that “the economic crisis will have a very direct, very significant effect on the arrival of foreign persons, and this should come as no surprise, since what is attracting them is job opportunities”. However, Rumí insisted that immigration “is necessary, both in times of crisis and in periods of expansion”. With respect to the legislative changes taking place in this area, she declared that the objective is to move from a Ley de Extranjería a una Ley de Inmigración [from a Foreign Nationals Law to an Immigration Law].

The new trends in migration flows into Spain and the impact of the economic crisis were the main subjects under analysis during the event to launch the volume, the 2008 edition of which is titled Immigration at the Crossroads. The presentation was attended by the Yearbook's three editors, Eliseo Aja, Joaquín Arango and Josep Oliver Alonso. Arango, Professor of Sociology at the Complutense University of Madrid, stressed that immigration in Spain was currently at a crucial point, at the same time as praising the maturity with which Spanish society has come to terms with such a major transformation over a short period of time. Meanwhile, Eliseo Aja, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Barcelona and Director of the Institute of Public Law, stressed that the reform of the Immigration Law and the participation of the Autonomous Communities in the management of immigration are two of the main challenges to be solved, while Oliver, Professor of Applied Economics at the Autonomous University of Barcelona declared that 2008 was the end of an incredible decade with respect to the issue of immigration. In Oliver's opinion, 2008 marked the end of an era, given that until the last quarter of 2008, unemployment among the immigration population grew owing to the increase of the active population, while the growth in unemployment figures for the autochthonous population was the result of the elimination of jobs.

The Yearbook presentation also featured the participation of Jesús Sánchez Lambás, the Secretary-General of the José Ortega y Gasset Foundation, and Jordi Vaquer i Fanés, the Director of the CIDOB Foundation, both of whom stressed the importance of institutional collaboration in the publication of the volume.