Evolution of Spanish immigration policies and their impact on North African migration to Spain

תקציר

Over the last two decades, Spain has turned from a sending country of migrants into a net receiver of immigrants. This shift can be traced to an important transformation of its economic structure and its incorporation into the European Economic Community. Up to the mid-1990s, immigration policy was determined by objectives defined at the European level. In the absence of a national stand, “Europeanization " of immigration policies represented carte blanche acceptance of EU policy objectives, resulting in a highly restrictive policy unsuited to Spain ’s early migratory processes. Over time, a growing conflict between external policy directions and needs perceived at the national level (e.g., large numbers of undocumented immigrants; demand for unskilled labor; foreign policy interests in sending regions, particularly North Africa) resulted in the development of a more sophisticated set of policies that, while trying to comply with EU requirements, increased the autonomy of Spanish authorities. Among the new foreign residents, North Africans constitute one of the most important visible and politically sensitive groups. Being the first potential candidates to migrate to Spain, they have been particularly affected by restrictive border control policies and constitute the most distrusted and disliked group among the foreign communities settled in Spain. The fight against their discriminatory treatment constitutes a critical issue of justice, not only in the present, but also in the future, if the second generation of North Africans born and raised in Spain is to be fully incorporated into this society.