Spain’s Bet on the Future: Embracing Immigration in an Increasingly Restrictive Europe
On August 31, 2015, on the precipice of the European migrant crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared, “Wir schaffen das,” which translates to “We can do this.” As Merkel delivered her optimistic pronouncement, she also committed Germany to accepting an influx of refugees. Despite her initial confidence, the swift spike in asylum seekers and political pressure forced Chancellor Merkel to restrict Germany's borders. A decade later, as governments across the European continent have moved toward more restrictive migration policies, Spain is charting a different course.
The receptive sentiment toward immigration has not appeared to last across much of Europe. In Italy, Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government has begun operating controversial offshore migration detention centers in Albania. In the United Kingdom, legislation was passed to deport unauthorized asylum seekers to Rwanda, although the plan was cancelled following the Labour Government winning power following the 2024 elections. European Union (EU) home affairs ministers agreed to proposals to offshore migration responsibilities, aiming to increase the deportation of rejected asylum seekers. Magnus Brunner, the EU’s commissioner for migration, last year called the current 20 percent removal rate “unacceptable.”
Even as illegal border crossings fell 26 percent in Europe in 2025, the political momentum of far-right parties has only intensified. Across the continent, mainstream parties have responded by adopting tougher migration policies as a matter of political expediency, suggesting that perception and identity politics are driving policy more than material conditions.
In the United States, as President Donald J. Trump presses on with his domestic anti-immigrant agenda, the White House’s sentiments appear to extend to the foreign arena as well. A 33-page national security document from November 2025, titled “National Security Strategy,” baselessly claimed that Europe would be “unrecognizable in 20 years or less” and that it was facing “civilizational erasure” as a consequence of immigration. Among the most salient issues facing Europe that the document details, it cites “migration policies that are transforming the continent and creating strife.” The document uses these claims as a foundation to call into question the reliability and stability of transatlantic alliances, adding that “we want Europe to remain European…”
Amid these global anti-immigrant headwinds, Spain has adopted a different approach. The government, in late January, moved to grant legal status to roughly 500,000 undocumented migrants currently living in the country. As Spain’s governing coalition lacks a parliamentary majority, a decree is expected to advance the measure. The plan will allow migrants who arrived before December 31, 2025, who have lived in Spain for at least five months, and who have no criminal record to obtain up to one year of residency and a work permit. Spanish Minister of Migration Elma Saiz told journalists that Spain “will not look the other way,” and that through this measure, the government is “dignifying and recognizing people who are already in our country.” This divergence reveals a growing split within the West over whether migration represents a threat to national survival or a prerequisite for it.
This is not the first time Spain has taken steps to regularize undocumented migrants. Spain, a country with a notable history of emigration, has approved sweeping pathways to legal status for undocumented migrants on six occasions since the 1980s. Most recently, in 2005, under then-Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the government regularized more than 570,000 undocumented migrants. Once again moving towards a large-scale approach, Spain returns to its recent roots in inclusive migration policy. In doing so, Spain departs from the restrictive migration trend taking hold across much of the West.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote an op-ed in the New York Times published on February 4, 2026, spelling out his government’s reasoning for undertaking the measure. Sánchez elaborated on two motivations for the policy. On moral grounds, Sánchez pointed to Spain’s history as a nation of emigrants, arguing, “It is our duty to become the welcoming and tolerant society that our own relatives would have hoped to find on the other side of our borders.” The second reason centered on economic pragmatism. Sánchez argued for the policy by warning about demographic decline across the West, writing, “The only option to avoid decline is to integrate migrants in the most orderly and effective way possible.”
Prime Minister Sánchez recognized these diverging approaches in other countries, critiquing what he described as “MAGA-style leaders.” He wrote that these leaders “may say that our country can’t handle taking in so many migrants, that this is a suicidal move — the desperate act of a collapsing country. But don’t let them fool you. Spain is booming. For three years running, we have had the fastest-growing economy among Europe’s largest countries.” Spain has indeed outperformed some of its European peers, with Goldman Sachs forecasting that the Spanish economy will continue to grow 1.9 percent in 2026 and 1.7 percent in 2027.
The move by Spain’s left-wing government has been met with uneasiness from other European countries, particularly over its potential spillover effects within the bloc. The most prominent concern is that migrants granted legal status in Spain could travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days and potentially attempt to settle in other member states without authorization. Officials from the European Commission have expressed reservations about the policy, saying that it contradicts the European Union’s broader deterrence-oriented migration strategy. This reaction highlights how migration has become a collective political challenge in Europe, with national policies carrying consequences that extend beyond domestic borders.
The decision is not without domestic opposition as well. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the conservative opposition, cautioned that the move would overwhelm the country’s public services and exacerbate an ongoing housing crisis. Santiago Abascal, a leader of the Spanish far-right, echoed racist conspiracy theories, claiming Sánchez’s government was “accelerating an invasion.” Contrastingly, Minister of Migration Saiz insisted that Spain would remain a beacon in the fight against the global trend of anti-immigration policies and sentiments.
A decade ago, Merkel insisted that Europe could manage migration without surrendering its values. Today, as governments move toward restriction and identity-driven policy, that optimism feels increasingly distant. Spain's approach suggests that an alternative path remains possible. Deviating from many of its Western allies, Spain offers a competing perspective that views integration as both a moral duty and a pragmatic response to demographic and economic pressures. How these competing ideological visions unfold will shape domestic politics and the future cohesion of transatlantic alliances alike.