https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Spain in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed More than 3,000 migrants died while trying to reach Spain this year, a report released by a Spanish migration rights group said on Monday, a sharp decline from 2024 as the number of attempted crossings fell. https://www.thelocal.es/20251229/over-3000-migrants-died-in-2025-trying-to-reach-spain Mon, 29 Dec 2025 14:52:02 +0100 over-3000-migrants-died-in-2025-trying-to-reach-spain The European Union has that said Italy, Spain, Greece and Cyprus should receive help in redistributing at least 30,000 asylum seekers to relieve pressure from irregular migration. https://www.thelocal.es/20251112/eu-to-help-spain-redistribute-undocumented-migrants-to-other-member-states Wed, 12 Nov 2025 14:44:54 +0100 eu-to-help-spain-redistribute-undocumented-migrants-to-other-member-states In scenes reminiscent of asylum hotel protests in the UK, the Spanish far-right is targeting migrant reception centres through demonstrations and policy proposals. https://www.thelocal.es/20250904/spains-vox-mirrors-uk-far-right-with-protests-against-migrant-centres Thu, 04 Sep 2025 17:34:29 +0200 spains-vox-mirrors-uk-far-right-with-protests-against-migrant-centres Spanish police said on Sunday they had arrested seven people smugglers accused of murdering four migrants during a sea crossing in November from the African mainland to the Canary Islands. https://www.thelocal.es/20241229/spain-arrests-traffickers-accused-of-killing-asylum-seekers Sun, 29 Dec 2024 18:55:08 +0100 spain-arrests-traffickers-accused-of-killing-asylum-seekers At least 10,457 migrants died or disappeared while trying to reach Spain by sea in 2024, an NGO said Thursday, more than 50 percent more than last year and the most since it began keeping a tally in 2007. https://www.thelocal.es/20241226/record-number-of-migrants-lost-at-sea-bound-for-spain-in-2024-ngo Thu, 26 Dec 2024 12:47:02 +0100 record-number-of-migrants-lost-at-sea-bound-for-spain-in-2024-ngo Six migrants have been found dead onboard several boats off the Canary Islands, the Spanish emergency services said Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.es/20241211/six-found-dead-in-migrant-boats-arriving-in-the-canaries Wed, 11 Dec 2024 12:52:56 +0100 six-found-dead-in-migrant-boats-arriving-in-the-canaries Experts have warned that reforms to immigration rules in Spain are 'a trap' for asylum seekers trying to navigate bureaucracy, with the potential to leave many thousands in legal limbo. https://www.thelocal.es/20241127/how-spains-new-immigration-rules-could-leave-asylum-seekers-in-limbo Wed, 27 Nov 2024 10:43:43 +0100 how-spains-new-immigration-rules-could-leave-asylum-seekers-in-limbo Longer job-seeking visas, an easier shift from a study visa to a residence and work permit, simplified paperwork for undocumented migrants - there are many changes in store for foreigners in Spain after the government's latest migration reform. https://www.thelocal.es/20241120/how-spain-will-make-residency-and-work-permits-easier-for-foreigners Wed, 20 Nov 2024 10:36:27 +0100 how-spain-will-make-residency-and-work-permits-easier-for-foreigners Spain's left-wing government on Tuesday announced an immigration law reform regularising tens of thousands more migrants per year, in a fresh contrast to harsher policies elsewhere in Europe. https://www.thelocal.es/20241119/spain-to-regularise-tens-of-thousands-more-migrants-per-year Tue, 19 Nov 2024 17:10:45 +0100 spain-to-regularise-tens-of-thousands-more-migrants-per-year Thousands took part in rallies in the Canary Islands' main cities on Sunday against irregular migration, which has seen a huge increase in boats washing up on its shores. https://www.thelocal.es/20241028/anti-migrant-protests-in-spains-canaries-draw-thousands Mon, 28 Oct 2024 10:42:01 +0100 anti-migrant-protests-in-spains-canaries-draw-thousands Thousands of Senegalese nationals queued for hours or days to get their passports in Barcelona, showcasing the plight of countless immigrants in Spain who are kept in a precarious "a-legal" situation by restrictive bureaucracy. Jennifer Lutz reports. https://www.thelocal.es/20241025/senegalese-passport-chaos-highlights-spains-immigration-policy-failures Fri, 25 Oct 2024 11:54:59 +0200 senegalese-passport-chaos-highlights-spains-immigration-policy-failures Spain's approach to illegal immigration is emerging as an outlier in the European Union as the bloc shifts to the right with tougher measures against irregular arrivals. https://www.thelocal.es/20241023/far-right-gains-in-eu-make-spain-a-migration-outlier Wed, 23 Oct 2024 14:07:10 +0200 far-right-gains-in-eu-make-spain-a-migration-outlier Italy's Interior Minister has lashed out at Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for criticising the immigration policy of Giorgia Meloni's government and rejecting processing centres for migrants outside of the European Union. https://www.thelocal.es/20241018/italy-slams-spains-pm-for-rejecting-melonis-deportation-centres Fri, 18 Oct 2024 14:48:11 +0200 italy-slams-spains-pm-for-rejecting-melonis-deportation-centres Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday called for new EU rules on handling irregular arrivals of asylum seekers and migrants to come into force in 2025, a year ahead of schedule. https://www.thelocal.es/20241009/spains-pm-calls-on-eu-to-speed-up-deal-on-irregular-migrants Wed, 09 Oct 2024 14:15:46 +0200 spains-pm-calls-on-eu-to-speed-up-deal-on-irregular-migrants The deadly sinking of a migrant boat off Spain's Canary Islands has renewed pressure on the national government to do more to help the overwhelmed archipelago cope with a surge in migrant arrivals from Africa. https://www.thelocal.es/20241003/boat-tragedy-pressures-spain-to-help-canaries-with-migrant-surge Thu, 03 Oct 2024 14:51:14 +0200 boat-tragedy-pressures-spain-to-help-canaries-with-migrant-surge Rescue crews on Monday renewed the search for at least 48 migrants missing since their boat capsized off Spain's Canary Islands at the weekend, a tragedy feared to be the deadliest migrant crossing to the Atlantic archipelago in 30 years. https://www.thelocal.es/20240930/spain-renews-search-for-dozens-of-missing-migrants-off-canaries Mon, 30 Sep 2024 16:00:35 +0200 spain-renews-search-for-dozens-of-missing-migrants-off-canaries More than 150 people have appeared in a Moroccan court for alleged incitement of illegal migration, a government spokesman said on Thursday, after a failed mass attempt to reach Spain which was promoted on social media. https://www.thelocal.es/20240920/social-media-instigators-of-mass-migrant-crossing-to-spain-in-court Fri, 20 Sep 2024 11:13:06 +0200 social-media-instigators-of-mass-migrant-crossing-to-spain-in-court Moroccan police pushed back hundreds of people on Sunday who headed towards the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, an AFP photographer said, after social media posts encouraged crossing attempts. https://www.thelocal.es/20240916/morocco-stops-would-be-migrants-trying-to-reach-spanish-exclave Mon, 16 Sep 2024 11:16:51 +0200 morocco-stops-would-be-migrants-trying-to-reach-spanish-exclave Mauritania and Spain agreed Wednesday to cooperate to manage migrant flows, during a visit by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to the West African country as his government faces an upsurge in migrant arrivals. https://www.thelocal.es/20240828/mauritania-and-spain-pledge-cooperation-on-migration Wed, 28 Aug 2024 15:35:15 +0200 mauritania-and-spain-pledge-cooperation-on-migration Spain's Canary Islands on Wednesday mark 30 years since two young men from Western Sahara arrived on their shores -- the first in an ever-growing procession of migrants from Africa risking their lives at sea to reach Europe. https://www.thelocal.es/20240828/spains-canary-islands-mark-30-years-of-clandestine-migrant-arrivals Wed, 28 Aug 2024 12:12:59 +0200 spains-canary-islands-mark-30-years-of-clandestine-migrant-arrivals