Chaos erupted in Spain as crowds of migrants stormed the Gambian embassy in Madrid, as the country manages a massive new regularisation drive for half a million people.
As of last Monday, Spain’s migrant regularisation process was underway with individuals waiting hours at more than 400 locations across the country for appointments after submitting online applications.
Thousands have been pictured lining up outside registry offices and makeshift regularisation centres in regions such as Catalonia, Andalucia and Asturias.
In a frantic rush to finalise their paperwork, some migrants have been waiting in line for hours or staying overnight to get their documents officially stamped.
Massive crowds have overwhelmed registry offices, pushing social services to the brink of collapse and fueling unrest among those desperate for documentation.
On Tuesday, dozens of desperate migrants scaled the walls of the Gambian embassy in Madrid after being unable to secure the vulnerability certificates needed for their applications.
Many had spent the entire night queuing outside the building just to obtain the required documentation
However, they were informed early in the morning that all appointments were already booked.
Dozens of desperate migrants scaled the walls of the Gambian embassy in Madrid
Many of the migrants had spent the entire night queuing outside the building just to obtain the required documentation
The situation then spiraled out of control as migrants began jumping over the embassy fence in a desperate bid to obtain their certificate.
Panic ensued and the police was forced to intervene. No arrests were made, according to local media reports.
Authorities are now surveilling the area due to possible further attempts to gain access, given the high demand for these certificates.
It comes as officials in Spain have warned of a collapse in social services as thousands of migrants attempt to gain legal status.
Municipal unions in Seville last week warned that ‘extraordinary pressure’ and overcrowding are lowering service quality and creating high tension among staff and the public in the Andalusian city.
Unions are pleading for more staff, an improvement in security, and compensation for workers forced to face the chaos.
Seville City Council has meanwhile urged people to stay calm, insisting the service is operating ‘normally,’ The Spanish Eye reports.
In Spain’s capital, Madrid, services are also under mounting pressure.
‘We’ve gone from 1,500 daily requests at social services centres to 5,500. I think a hasty decision was made, perhaps even intended to create a collapse,’ said Jose Fernandez, the municipal delegate for Social Policies.
Fernandez explained to news outlet 20minutos that the process was launched ‘without consulting the relevant authorities.’
‘I believe the best course of action would be to withdraw this decree and implement it through consensus,’ he added.
Meanwhile, Barcelona has seen migrants camping overnight outside registry offices.
The initiative by the Spanish government has faced intense backlash from Spanish right-wing parties, and has even gone global, with billionaire Elon Musk slamming the move.
Commenting under a video of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on X, Musk wrote: ‘Dirty Sánchez is guilty of high treason.’
Musk had previously called Sanchez a ‘traitor’ and a ‘tyrant,’ due to his migrant policies.
Hitting back at critics, Sanchez sent a message last weekend to what he called the ‘extreme right.’
‘Spain is the daughter of migration and will not become the mother of xenophobia,’ he said at a progressive summit in Barcelona.
The government’s amnesty is a central plank of Sanchez’s progressive agenda to harness the economic benefits of migration for its ageing population, even as other European governments move to tighten their borders.
Officials in Spain have warned of a collapse in social services as thousands of migrants attempt to gain legal status.
The government’s amnesty is a central plank of Sanchez’s progressive agenda to harness the economic benefits of migration for its ageing population
There are around 840,000 undocumented migrants in Spain, the majority of whom are from Latin America
Spain’s 50million-strong population has swelled in recent years to include around 10million people living in Spain who were born abroad.
There are around 840,000 undocumented migrants in Spain, the majority of whom are from Latin America, according to data from the Funcas think tank.
The country’s opposition Popular Party has deemed the drive reckless, despite former conservative governments pushing through similar measures.
Isabel Diaz Ayuso, president of the community of Madrid and a prominent figure in the party, has threatened to appeal the drive in court.
Santiago Abascal, the leader of the populist hard-Right party Vox, accused the Socialist-led coalition of accelerating what he called an ‘invasion’.
Pepa Millán, spokesman for Vox, said the plan ‘attacks our identity’, pledging that the party would appeal before the Supreme Court in an attempt to block it.
Meanwhile, Sanchez argues immigrants are key to Spain’s economy, which expanded 2.8 per cent last year – more than twice the average expected in the entire eurozone.
‘Spain is ageing… Without more people working and contributing to the economy, our prosperity slows, and our public services suffer,’ he wrote in an open letter addressed to citizens.
The country has been outperforming other EU nations in recent years, with unemployment – a longstanding issue in the Spanish economy – dipping below 10 per cent for the first time since 2008.
But with about 90 per cent of new jobs going to immigrants, income per person has barely grown in Spain.
Moreover, each year sees 140,000 new households, but only about 80,000 new homes built.
A lack of affordable housing has become a central grievance among voters, contributing to social tension.
