As Europe toughens migration stance, Spain charts path away from Trump line

As migration hardens into one of Europe’s most divisive political battlegrounds, Spain is emerging as a clear outlier. While centrist governments across the continent tighten borders under pressure from surging far-right parties and amid warnings from figures linked to the Trump administration that Europe risks “civilisational erasure” unless it acts — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is defending a more open, economically driven approach to immigration.

At a time when many leaders frame migration primarily as a threat, Sánchez has consistently argued that newcomers are essential to Spain’s prosperity. His government’s stance places Madrid increasingly at odds not only with Europe’s political mood but also with the tougher rhetoric emanating from Washington under Donald Trump’s renewed influence.

Spain’s economic case for openness

Spain has absorbed millions of migrants from Latin America and Africa over the past decade, many of them arriving legally by air and integrating relatively quickly into the labour market. Sánchez regularly links immigration to Spain’s strong economic performance, arguing that foreign workers are helping offset an ageing population and labour shortages.

Spain’s economy has grown faster than any other in the European Union for a second consecutive year, a trend officials partly attribute to immigration boosting the workforce and tax base. “Spain’s progress and strong economic situation owe much to the contribution of migrants,” Sánchez said earlier this year after anti-migrant unrest flared in a southern town.

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That framing reflects continuity with previous progressive governments, according to Anna Terrón Cusi, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute and former Spanish migration official.

What has changed, she notes, is the political environment: the rise of the far-right Vox party, which has amplified anti-immigration rhetoric, particularly targeting Muslim migrants. Unlike many European leaders, Sánchez has chosen to confront that narrative head-on rather than accommodate it.

Europe turns inward under political pressure

Elsewhere in Europe, the trajectory is moving in the opposite direction. Despite a sharp fall in irregular border crossings into the EU over the past two years, centrist leaders are tightening asylum and migration rules as far-right parties gain ground.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron has increasingly spoken of a “migration problem” and backed tougher legislation aimed at restricting illegal immigration while tightening integration requirements. In Germany, Chancellor Friedrich Merz campaigned on stricter migration controls and moved quickly after taking office to reinforce border checks and step up deportations of rejected asylum-seekers.

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These shifts reflect a broader recalibration across Europe, where governments fear losing voters to anti-immigration parties. Reuters has reported that multiple EU states are revising asylum systems, expanding border controls and narrowing legal pathways, even as demographic pressures persist.

Spain has not been immune to these constraints. Sánchez’s government amended immigration laws last year to allow hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants to obtain residency and work permits, arguing Spain needs roughly 300,000 additional foreign workers annually to sustain pensions and public services. Yet critics said the reforms were flawed, and a broader amnesty proposal later stalled in parliament amid political resistance and EU-wide sensitivities.

Control at the borders, tension at home

Spain’s openness is also more conditional than rhetoric sometimes suggests. In coordination with the EU, Madrid has paid African governments to curb departures toward Spanish shores.

After a surge in dangerous sea crossings to the Canary Islands last year, Sánchez travelled to Mauritania alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who pledged €210 million to strengthen border controls there. Arrivals to the Canaries are down about 60% this year, a decline even critics attribute to tougher controls in Africa.

Human rights groups, however, argue that Spain’s deterrence policies have contributed to deadly outcomes, pointing to incidents such as the 2022 Melilla border tragedy, where 23 migrants died during clashes with security forces. Sánchez has defended the actions of Spanish and Moroccan authorities, calling the incident an attack on Spain’s borders, while his office insists the migration policy is “effective and responsible.”

Domestically, immigration is fuelling another sensitive debate: housing. Economists warn that rapid population growth, combined with limited construction, over tourism and short-term rentals, has worsened affordability. Spain’s central bank estimates the country will need around 24 million working-age immigrants over the next three decades, but analysts caution that integration without sufficient housing could deepen social strains.

Sánchez’s government has promised to expand public housing and curb speculative second-home purchases by wealthy foreigners. Whether Spain can sustain its pro-migration stance — economically, politically and socially as Europe moves in the opposite direction may determine how durable this divergence from the prevailing European and Trump-aligned line ultimately proves.

With inputs from agencies