From riots to 'regulation,' the UK and Spain show opposing attitudes towards migrants
This week offered the story of two very different Europes.
In Northern Ireland, the streets have burned with anti-immigrant rage following a violent knife attack in Belfast allegedly carried out by a Sudanese refugee. Within hours, figures like far-right activist Tommy Robinson and trillionaire Elon Musk used social media to calm public anxiety, fueling a night of collective violence.
Yet as the chaos unfolded, just a short flight away, Spain was pursuing a more controversial path.
Authorities are in the midst of extending an invitation to up to half a million undocumented immigrants to apply for legal residency.
The sweepstakes program provides a legal bridge to stay in the country and live freely, securely monitored and pay Spanish taxes for years to come.
This approach underscores the oppositional response to the divisive issue of migration, which has consumed governments across continental Europe and the United Kingdom.
That split provided a dramatic backdrop for Pope Leo's visit to Spain's Canary Islands on Thursday and Friday. The southernmost point in Europe – closer to Africa than Spain – is one of the most dangerous sea migration routes, where more than 1,300 people have died in the last six months, and tens of thousands have died in recent years.
“You have dreams that no one has the right to despise,” Leo told the audience, which included hundreds of newly arrived immigrants.
He spoke directly from the port of Arguineguin, the main port of Gran Canaria. It is notorious as the “Dock of Shame” for the terrible conditions thousands of migrants had to endure in 2020, when the arrivals overwhelmed the island's capacity to cope.
During a visit to Spain's Canary Islands, Pope Leo appealed for compassion for migrants and asylum seekers. His comments come in line with the Spanish government's plan to grant legal residency to half a million undocumented migrants – making it outside of Europe.
“Your lives must be protected,” the US-born Pope said, underscoring his intention to make compassion for migrants one of the defining issues of his papacy.
Spain's immigration policy
The Pope's call may not make much noise in large parts of Europe right now, but in Spain under Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, it has effectively become government policy.
“I think that every time we make the law closer to reality, it's a good thing,” said Oriol Nebot, a lawyer who works with the Catholic NGO Cáritas, which helps migrants through the “do it all” process.
Many newcomers already have jobs and send their children to Spanish schools. Legalizing their status simply acknowledges the status quo, Nebot said.
“It is a victory for these people because it is also a step to give dignity [their] situation. But also for the government, it is a good step, because these people can now pay taxes. “
Wendy Solorzano, a 42-year-old single mother from Honduras, hopes to qualify. She has a son and a child with cerebral palsy who needs treatment and special things that are not available to the family in her country.
People with passports from Central and South America do not need a visa to come to Spain as tourists. As in Solorzano's case, they often arrive legally at airports but always exceed the 90-day visitor limit.
He acknowledges the burden of his needs placed on Spanish social services but says he can make an important contribution to his new home.
“I am a teacher and I can help the Spanish people to get my knowledge, as a student [English] teacher,” he said in the interview. “I can be a good person here.”
'Extraordinary execution'
Support for the “extraordinary regularization” plan is far from universal, however.
The opposition People's Party has accused the Spanish government of trying to rig the upcoming election by creating a generation of potential voters. It also says that the new taxes that citizens will pay will not come close to covering the cost of government services that they will use.
The far-right Vox group is more vocal, warning the policy is tantamount to an invitation for more people to ignore Spain's borders and show up illegally.
In fact, it is the seventh time in 40 years that the Spanish government has offered a version of the same policy. While the current Sánchez government is socialist, parties on the left and right have welcomed mass exodus in the past.
Economist Miquel Puig told CBC News that while there may be moral and compassionate reasons for implementing this policy, economically, these measures have helped Spain become addicted to cheap labor.
“The bad thing is that we repeat this often because we allow economic sectors to depend more on low-paid workers,” he said. “And those sectors are growing.”
Puig says this has the effect of depressing domestic wages and overall productivity, creating an unbalanced economy.
A UK perspective
While other European countries have made it easier for certain groups of migrants – such as workers in the agricultural sector – to become legal citizens, in the current political situation, Spain is a notable place for the scope and frequency of its “normalization” efforts.
The United Kingdom's view on immigration is anti-national.
While Spain sees an economic opportunity to allow illegal immigrants to become citizens, recent British governments have taken steps to make the country as unattractive to immigrants as possible.
The UK is accelerating deportations and is in the process of making it more difficult for long-term residents to find permanent residency.
Another big difference between Spain, Britain and other European countries is that most of those who apply under the Spanish legal system come from South or Central America, especially Peru and Colombia.
They share the Spanish language and the Roman Catholic religion, no doubt making integration easier. By 2025, almost 70 percent of Spanish asylum seekers will come from Latin America.
Although the UK Home Office says Muslim-majority countries – including Pakistan, Eritrea, Iran, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sudan – now account for nearly half of all British asylum applications.
Some of those, like migrants from Sudan and other African countries, often try to cross the English Channel and enter the country by boat, while other applicants arrive by plane and stay longer on their visas.
More recently, anti-Muslim sentiment has strongly influenced British immigration policy. The right-wing rhetoric has raised concerns about social cohesion and concerns about integrating the Muslim population. A 2025 YouGov poll reported that 41 percent of the British public clearly believe that Muslim immigrants have a negative impact on the country.
New EU-wide rules to speed up the processing of cases, track asylum seekers and speed up deportations are expected to come into force on Friday, although it is unclear how many of the 27 member states have yet to implement them.
Whether the Pope's intervention on the migrant issue can change minds – and government policy across Europe – is debatable.
But Manuel Manonellas, a professor of international relations at Blanquerna University, Ramon Llull in Barcelona, told CBC News that he sees Leo's intervention as important.
“I think it is important that someone reminds us that in all our communities, we are the result of 2,000 years of human migration,” he said.
“This is not going to shut down the debate or completely stop the debate, but it will provide a more open and people-based debate, which I think is important.”
