Migrants to Spain find welcome mat withdrawn

Over the past decade Spain has been the biggest importer of labour in the European Union. Waves of migrants from north Africa, South America and eastern Europe poured into Spain – once an exporter of cheap labour – to work as builders, domestic workers and waiters. Construction, tourism and the broader economy were thriving.

However, a combination of fast-rising unemployment – now at 2.5m, or 11 per cent of the workforce – and grumbling about foreigners among native Spaniards has prompted a hasty reappraisal of immigration policies by politicians of both left and right.

Migration Information Source: Spain http://www.migrationinformation.org/Resources/Spain.cfm

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