The issue of immigration has become the latest battleground in Spanish politics, aside from regional financing, with the People’s Party (PP) facing internal turmoil sparked by one of its few prominent figures in Catalonia. The government has criticized the resistance from the PP headquarters in Madrid to correct Xavier García Albiol, the mayor of Badalona, who recently linked irregular immigration to squatting in homes and predicted that Spain would “end up like France sooner rather than later” due to the arrival of Maghrebi migrants. Vice President María Jesús Montero and Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez have called on PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo to disavow García Albiol and reconsider the party’s increasingly harsh stance on immigration, which Montero describes as “indistinguishable” from that of the far-right, as it “criminalizes people who come to Spain seeking better living conditions.”
The PP has remained silent and has reiterated its position of not publicly censoring the words of the mayor of Badalona. García Albiol’s comments on social media, where he expressed concerns about the arrival of Moroccan men in Barcelona and warned of a situation similar to that of France, have drawn widespread criticism. Feijóo, on the other hand, appealed to voters in the Catalan elections who oppose allowing illegal immigrants to occupy homes. The PP has defended García Albiol’s statements as a personal reflection of a ferry trip he took, and has pointed to the party’s recently submitted proposal to strengthen border control as a response to the controversy.
The PP’s justifications for García Albiol’s remarks come amid accusations from the government that the party is adopting the xenophobic ideology of Vox and the ultra-right platform “Se Acabó la Fiesta.” This situation unfolds during a week marked by the ongoing migrant crisis in the Canary Islands and Ceuta, where services for unaccompanied migrant minors have been overwhelmed. Government officials have called on Feijóo to demand an apology from García Albiol and to swiftly rectify the situation, emphasizing the need to reconsider the messages being propagated by the right-wing parties as they can have a lasting impact on society.
President Pedro Sánchez will meet with the Canary Islands government representative Fernando Clavijo on La Palma on Friday. In late July, the PP voted against a modification of the immigration law in Congress that would require autonomous regions like the Canary Islands to share the responsibility for hosting unaccompanied migrant minors. Clavijo, who governs with the PP in the Canary Islands, supported the reform, as did Ceuta’s president Juan Jesús Vivas. The government believes that the issue of immigration should not be taken lightly and calls for a more responsible approach in addressing the challenges posed by migration.
As the debate over immigration intensifies within Spanish politics, with conflicting viewpoints and approaches emerging from different political parties, the focus remains on finding sustainable and humane solutions to address the complex issue. The government has urged the opposition to reflect on their messaging regarding immigration and to prioritize empathy and understanding towards those seeking a better life in Spain. With ongoing challenges related to migrant arrivals in various regions of the country, it is essential for all political parties to engage in constructive dialogue and work towards a common goal of ensuring the well-being and integration of migrants in Spanish society.
