Spain Grants Legal Status to 500,000 Illegal Immigrants Under Royal Decree

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he felt ‘proud to be Spanish’ while other politicians said up to 800,000 could qualify under the plan, far above estimates.

Illegal immigrants disembark on a Spanish Salvamento Marítimo rescue vessel at La Restinga port on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, on Sept. 18, 2024. Antonio Sempere/AFP via Getty Images

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said his government will approve a royal decree to regularize nearly half a million illegal immigrants.

Sánchez, a socialist, said in an April 14 post on X that the Council of Ministers will approve a royal decree launching the extraordinary regularization of people living in the country illegally, a process expected to affect nearly half a million individuals.