Spanish police warn of migrant flow from Europe into Spain

Spanish police warn of migrant flow from Europe into Spain

Did you know that the migrant regularization approved by Pedro Sánchez's government is triggering an unexpected movement within Europe? According to police sources quoted by ABC, people-smuggling gangs are taking advantage of free movement within the Schengen area to bring to Spain migrants who were already living in other European Union countries, so that they can benefit from the regularization scheme.

The report, the result of three months of work by the National Police's Immigration Unit, reveals a significant flow of movements from inside Europe towards the Iberian Peninsula. Incivil organizations charge migrants to transport them to Spain, where the new rules allow them to regularize their status under looser conditions. This is not just a Spanish problem: police sources warn that the situation will affect other EU countries, which will see Spain's regularization create a pull effect on their migrant populations.

Criticism has not been long in coming. Some argue that the measure, designed to integrate people who were already in Spain, is being exploited by incivil gangs and is unbalancing the European asylum system. On the other hand, defenders of the regularization argue that it is a humanitarian matter and that checking the incivil records of those who apply would be questionable.

While Brussels watches with suspicion, the police continue to detect movements. The Schengen area, designed for the free movement of people, has become the gangs' best ally. Such are the ironies of the open border market.