Taller sobre la integración en España, impartido por Remedios Orellana, profesora de Lengua y Literatura del IES Mercedes Labrador.
Proyecto I CHANGE Erasmus+
Francia 2017
2. INTRODUCTION
The United Nations recently reported that there are about one billion migrants
worldwide, of which one quarter are international migrants. The size of the migration
phenomenon and the speed by which it increases have turned migration into a challenge
that is at the top of the political agenda in the European Union, the United States, and in
many other countries across the world.
One reason why migration has become a major political priority is that it brings
large-scale social, economic, and demographic changes capable of producing opportunities
but also turmoil and friction.
Integration and social cohesion are keywords when addressing many of the
challenges posed by increasing migration.The European Union in particular has identified a
list of common basic principles to make integration work based on employment for
immigrant, frequent interactions between immigrants and natives, etc.
3. However, a study by the University of the Basque Country reveals that since 1990´s, the
models of integration harden the conditions of access to the licence of residence and of work
as well as to the nationality, the fight is intensified against the illegal immigration and they
increase the controls in the borders, because there is imposed the idea according to which
certain populations would not be assimilable and the diversity would have negative
consequences. In this context, the countries develop programs of civic integration not to favour
the integration but to propitiate the assimilation of the foreigners.
4. Migration processes are something of a connexion with human societies,
and fact have existed for millennia. But today's globalization has multiplied
exponentially, and even more so if globalization has done so, which has not is but the
last phase, capitalism. This, capitalism, both directly and indirectly, always
encouraged migration,
seeking cheap labor, on the one hand, and, on the other, producing misery in many
regions of the planet, which obviously always causes migratory processes.
Globalization is increasing to such unsuspected limits these tendencies so connatural
to capitalism. In short, the current capitalist globalization is producing such levels of
social exclusion (See Ovejero, 2002, 2003) that, by force, immigration is increasing to
previously unsuspected limits.
5. INMIGRANTS INTEGRATION
IN SPAIN: PATCHWORK MODEL
There are multiple models of social
integration of immigrants, models that
oscillate between assimilationism, typical of
the French world, and multiculturalism,
typical of the Anglo-Saxon sphere.
The main hypothesis of an article writing by
Antidio Martínez de Lizarrondo Artola is that
differences in autonomous communities
immigrant integration policies, are due to
politic and socio-structural factors. Although,
this autonomic diversity doesn’t generate
different models, it can be considered as the
source of the Spanish integration model,
which could be assimilated to the patchwork
model.
Integration
policies
Immigration
Plans
Welfare
State
Autonomous
communities
6. According to the patchork model, it has been demonstrated that the
autonomic heterogeneity in the application of the integration policies,
influences the fact that the Spanish migratory system is becoming a unique
model in the EU. Additional explanatory variables for these differences are
the features of the Mediterranean Welfare State and the system of
temporary migration.
IMMIGRATION BY PROVINCE
7. Evolution of immigration in Spain
• In a few decades, Spain has gone from being a generator country of emigration to a
receiver of migratory flow. The restoration of democracy coincided with a phase of
relative balance in net migration balances, which lasted until the mid-90s.
• The dynamism that showed the Spanish economy since then, may explain the strong
growth in immigration.
• Since 2000, Spain has presented one of the highest rates of annual immigration of the
world (from three to four times higher that the rate average of USA and eight times
more than the French.)
• Today, however, its annual net immigration rate reaches only 0.99%, ranking number
15 in the European Union. If during the years of economic boom in Spain immigration
was one of the protagonists and undoubted improvement engines, after the crisis, this
phenomenon has gone through different paths: returns to countries of origin, outputs of
young people trained in search of an opportunity and, beyond our borders, in a huge
wave of refugees.
8. Evolution of immigration in Spain
• In 2015 in Spain there were 5.852.953 immigrants. Does it suppose many or few
compared to other European countries? Then, together, they represented 12.6% of the
Spanish population, a rate below which countries such as Germany (14,6%) and United
Kingdom (13.07%). In Ireland it reaches 15.8% and in Austria, 17.15%.
• According to Ramón Mahía, one of the coordinators of the immigration of Cidob
Yearbook, the migratory balance today is practically zero,'they more or less new
arrivals in many similar to them will be and so that the stock of immigrants is between
4.5 and 5 million people,' as the expert state.
Date Immigrants
2015 5.852.953
2010 6.280.065
2005 4.107.226
2000 1.657.285
1995 1.020.067
1990 821.605
10. Highs and lows of immigrant integration in Spain
(Carmen González Enríquez )
Spain can boast of having achieved the integration of more than 6 million
immigrants in record time, without having witnessed the appearance of xenophobic
movements, becoming in this respect an exception to the European norm. While
the integration of immigrants has its positive sides, such as this, plus the full
legalisation of their legal position and the absence of immigrant enclaves, it also
has negative facets, such as the high burden of unemployment and low wages,
the poor take-up of post-compulsory education among subsequent generations, the
risk of Jihadist radicalisation and the scarcity of immigrant presence in public life.
Spain is still far from those countries where first-generation immigrants and their
offspring have succeeded in playing an important role in public life, like the
recently-elected mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, son of Pakistani immigrants, or the
Spanish-born French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, and the Moroccan-born Najat
Vallaud-Belkacem, the French Education Ministe. For now, immigrants hailing from
countries poorer than Spain occupy a secondary position both in the employment
and wealth structure as well as in terms of social status.
11. It could be said that both the authorities and the general public in Spain have
adopted a pragmatic stance towards the integration of immigrants, one that aims at solving
problems and risks of conflict without being based on any prior model. With the
accumulated experience of two decades, and when the effect of the economic crisis on
immigrants returning to their poorer countries of origin seems to have ended, now is a
good time to examine the data concerning this pragmatic approach to integrating
immigrants in Spain. It remains to be seen whether the Spanish model is capable of
producing such successful outcomes of integration as the ones cited above, a process in
which the education system bears a major responsibility.
12. Starting with the positive data from the perspective of integration: (+)(+)
1. Legal integration. The phenomenon of illegal immigration has virtually ceased.
Prompted by rising unemployment, in 2008 Spain stiffened its policy against illegal
immigration.
2. Sense of acceptance. The sense that rejection does not exist or is expressed by a
minority is related to the fact that there is no xenophobic party or movement of any
consequence in Spain.
3. Plans to remain. People who are considering returning to their country or emigrating to
another are in a minority
4. Absence of ethnic enclaves.Clearly the immigrant population is not distributed evenly
across Spanish cities and towns, instead tending to be concentrated in particular
neighbourhoods and districts.To date however there has been no sign of immigrant
enclaves, neighbourhoods that the indigenous population have abandoned in the wake
of the immigrant arrivals.
5. Identification with the host country.
6. Islamist radicalisation among Arab immigrants is very low in Spain compared to what
has been observed in Belgium, the UK, France and Germany.
13. Contrasting with these positive data there are also more negative aspects: (-)(-)
1. Unemployment, low salaries, job insecurity and poverty affect the immigrant population
disproportionately.
2. Residential evictions. As a group, immigrants have been more affected than native
Spaniards by eviction notices, owing to their relative economic precariousness and their
lack of family support networks.
3. The integration of the Muslim population is not assured. Muslim immigrants in Spain
continue to encounter obstacles to the practice of their religion on a range of fronts: the
building of mosques; burials; harmonising some of their most important religious festivals
such as Eid with the working calendar; and the teaching of their religion in classrooms.
4. The risk of Islamist radicalisation and violence. Althoug Islamist radicalisation in Spain
is relatively minor compared to other European countries.
5. The offspring of immigrants, those who are entering working age in the midst of an
economic crisis, face a worse job market than the one that greeted their parents when they
came to Spain in the throes of a construction boom.
14. With regard to residence and work permits, both regulations
the same system, which requires the following requirements:
1. The immigrant must obtain a job offer in his / her country of origin.
2. Apply for the entry visa to Spain to work.
3. Collect the visa personally and travel to Spain.
4. To apply for a residence and work permit in Spain (which Jointly
issued).
5. Begin to work and continue with the renewal process.
15. CONCLUSION
To conclude, the main challenge facing European societies over the next few
years, and perhaps particularly the Spanish, is precisely that of being able to appropriate and
effective integration of cultural and ethnic minorities from immigration. Furthermore, we must
fully maintain human rights and democratic societies in Europe. That is, the challenge
consists of nothing more - and nothing less than to know how to build multicultural,
democratic, socially are well-cohesive and do not exclude anyone, whatever their religion,
their culture or its ethnicity, while maintaining our system of freedoms and democracy.
To do this we will have to look for ways to reduce prejudices in order to prevent racism and
xenophobia (see Ovejero, 1998, 2004).
16. .
Bibliography
- An analysis of a large dataset on immigrant integration in Spain. The Statistical
Mechanics perspective on Social Action. Written by Adriano Barra, Pierluigi Contucci,
Rickard Sandell and Cecilia Vernia.
- Immigration and integration models: between asyling and multiculturalism. Several
authors, University of Valladolid
- Expansión.com, digital economy magazine
- Highs and lows of immigrant integration in Spain
Carmen González Enríquez.
- Integrations models in Europe. Eguzki Urteaga. University of the Basque Country
- Wikipedia.