The Spanish Immigration Crisis

The Spanish Immigration Crisis

Undoubtedly, migration and global movement have become more prominent in today's world than ever before. In just the last 15 years, there have been approximately 38 million people alone who have moved from 3rd world countries to Western countries (Immigration in Spain). Spain has been a heavy recipient of this growing migration trend, a result of Spain's dynamic growth over the last decade or so. A promise of financial success and stability that was spurred by the Spanish construction boom of the 2000's contributed significantly to this influx of immigrants to Spain. From 2000 through 2011, the breakdown by region of the foreign immigrants is as follows: Central and South America (36.2%), Western Europe (21.1%), Eastern Europe (17.8%), North Africa (14.8%), Sub-Saharan Africa (4.1%), and Other (4.7%) (Immigration in Spain). According to the CIA World Fact Book, Spain's 5.2% Net Migration Rate is the 19th highest in the world, meaning the country is bringing in more foreigners than are leaving the country at quite a high clip. As evidenced, Spain has become an immigration hub globally, and consequently, the immigrants have definitely had a major impact, good and bad, on the culture and economy of Spain. Unfortunately for Spain, specifically for its native citizens, this immigration boom has not proven that beneficial.

Comprised of a robust 895,970 people, the largest group of immigrants to Spain is far and away Romanians (Immigrants in Spain). Just as recently as 2000, the Romanian population in Spain was 6,410, representing a 13,000% increase to what the Romanian immigrant population is in Spain today. After an era of communism and bloodshed in pursuit of freedom, the democracy that Romanians were yearning for was transformed into a corrupted society and a semi-democracy that finally ended with a massive migration to the first world countries such as Spain (Rancu and Oana). The poverty situation and the economic problems they had in their own country made them follow the "European dream" for a better living. What was the main destination? Spain. For Romanians, the appeal of higher wages, similarities in languages, and the Romanians' Latin background all drew the aspiring immigrants to Spain of all countries. Due to the highly rural economic foundation of Romania, most of the immigrants to Spain were low-skilled and uneducated workers. Despite this lack of education and professional savvy, Romanians are very hard working, and that can be seen in Romania's national work productivity relative to other countries (Lewis). Spain, on the other hand, suffers from a laissez-faire culture, evidenced in a microcosm by the "siesta" that occurs daily. As a result, many Spanish employers were more than happy to hire Romanians who could bring a high level of motivation and a strong work ethic to work every day.

Although Romanians were initially well received into the Spanish populace, problems began to arise in Spanish society as soon as their numbers started to increase too rapidly and they were willing to work at half the wage rate Spanish workers did (Rancu and Oana). With the advent of the current financial crisis, many employers have been searching for ways to cut costs, and since Romanians are willing to get any job to feed their families, employers have targeted them as the new outlet in the labor market. This has significantly contributed to the rising unemployment rates in Spain that are currently around an obscene 25% clip. This effect has mostly hurt low-skilled workers because there are few Romanians who come to the country with an ability to wrestle away jobs from the highly educated Spaniards who are in the high paying professions (Tone). Also, there is a strong perceived relationship between the wave of immigration, in part from Romania, and the booming housing demand that Spain experienced through the mid-2000s (Aguayo). As more people flooded into Spain, construction grew enormously, leading to the housing bubble that is in the midst of crashing catastrophically in Spain. Due to the high ensuing unemployment rates, many Spaniards and immigrants have not been able to pay of mortgages to banks who cannot pay off their own debts; all this has culminated in a fragile, combustible situation in Spain, which many economists around the world fear is going to explode within the next 12 months unless a significant EU bailout is implemented soon.

Likewise, social problems began to pop up when cases of delinquency and prostitution related to Romanians made frequent news headlines. There was also a conception of Romanians as gypsies, which also soured their image in the Spanish society (Rancu and Oana). Moreover, the frustration of the economic crisis has recently sparked off xenophobic attitudes towards immigrants, especially Romanians, as many Spaniards are now scapegoating Romanians due to their position as the biggest immigrant population in Spain.

Arguably the biggest problem Spain has faced with its immigration is that of illegal immigration. Specifically from Romania and Northern Africa, thousands of people have made their way into the country illegally. The government is still grappling with the issue and coordinating with relevant countries to reach an amenable resolution to this challenge. The fact is that the illegal immigrants are mainly the ones jacking up crime rates and unemployment checks that the government has to disburse (Tone).

Despite the adverse impact immigration has had on Spain economically in some respects, immigration has certainly helped with entrepreneurship as well as diversifying the flavors of culture in Spain. Romanians have flourished in the baking business, many of which specialize in goods including poppy seeds, something that was not all that common in Spain previously (Business Week). Furthermore, Moroccans have firmly established themselves as lynchpins in the furniture business, opening up many lucrative and successful stores in Spain (Business Week).

The Spanish government has begun to undertake a few initiatives to better prepare the immigrants flooding the country with the necessary educational and training programs that can assist them in making beneficial impacts in Spain. In the past, immigrants have not been given any more opportunities than Spaniards because of their status as immigrants, which has certainly hurt their growth potential as consistently contributing members of Spanish society. However, by investing in the immigrants who have potential, the government sees an opportunity to increase work productivity and to begin to slowly alleviate the unemployment rate that many immigrants suffer from due to their incompetency with many trades and skills