SPAIN CHANGES AND WILL EXPEL IMMIGRANTS

After more than 230 years in which the Spanish doors have been open and thousands of illegal immigrants have been controlled, the government of this Mediterranean country has finally changed its policy and will from now on expel those who cross the borders without justification.

Spain and Italy are the two countries in the Mediterranean area that suffer the greatest attacks by illegal immigrants. In Spain alone, official figures confirm the existence of 600,000 migrants without the right to remain in the country.

But until now, all those who arrived through the Canary Islands, Gibraltar, the Balearic Islands and all the other coastal towns on the peninsula were received. Although it may seem strange, there are small towns where there are more migrants than those of national origin.

The government has established a list and the main illegal immigrants who managed to enter the country, in order of importance, are: Morocco; Romania; Algeria; Niger and Senegal. They represent 80 percent of those who crossed the borders without legal reasons

The national police and those that exist in the Spanish autonomous system, have been ordered to control the illegals. They will be taken to closed centers until they can be expelled by land or by special flights.

The European Commission has a great responsibility in this chaos since it has developed a policy of welcoming illegals that affected and continues to affect in particular the Mediterranean area; although the Canary Islands in the Atlantic, are the most attractive provinces for these people of sub-Saharan origin

The chaos is greater in the two autonomous cities of Ceuta and Nelilla, in Moroccan territory. Spain does not recognize the authority of the Alawite Kingdom and has surrounded the two cities with fences and barbed wire cordons; ditches and surveillance systems; but young illegals continue to enter, crossing the fences or in small boats that evade surveillance.

Every year, some 70,000 illegal immigrants continue to enter the Italian and Spanish coasts. Another measure adopted is to reduce the number of people who request asylum. Barcelona, ​​which until now is one of the cities that are targeted for illegal immigrants, has announced that from this month it will increase the number of expulsions, including of minors who enter without their families.

The Spanish public demonstrated this Monday in protest against the murder, on Sunday, of an educator in a center for foreign minors. Three of them, aged 14 and 15, suffocated her by placing a belt around her neck until she lost consciousness. They then fled in the educator's car until they were arrested by the Civil Guard.

The illegal immigrants are not authorized to take up jobs, although it is true that they do so on the "black market." The government does promise to give them free health care. It is also unknown how many people have entered, from Venezuela; Colombia; Ecuador and Argentina, who until now were guaranteed a visa because of their Latin American status.

(manuel ostos, retired journalist)

Photo: Two of the young murderers of a teacher