Illegals on the wane at last - 15.01.2010

THE number of illegal immigrants arriving in Spain dropped by 50% last year to 7,000 because of the recession, says the government.

Following the publication of its 2009 immigration directory, Consuelo Rumi, Secretary of State for Immigration, said: “It is the end of a long cycle. We are seeing a transition towards a new period that will be characterised by a slower rate of arrivals.”
And Rumi predicted that those illegals who did make it to Spain would face a tougher entry process.

Over a 15-year period, more than four million immigrants have arrived in Spain, attracted generally by the once-booming building industry.
Unemployment runs at 18% for the Spanish population, increasing to 27.5% for immigrants, who continued to arrive in Spain in high numbers until the second half of 2009.

Some 12% of Spain’s 46 million population are foreigners, mainly from South America, Morocco and Eastern Europe.