Zapatero calls for joint EU repatriation of illegals

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero on 2 November stressed the need for European Union countries to jointly repatriate undocumented immigrants. The EU needed to step up political and diplomatic efforts to stage joint repatriation flights, Zapatero said when appearing before the media with his Maltese counterpart Lawrence Gonzi. Zapatero and Gonzi were to discuss the Spanish EU presidency, which intends to place the fight against illegal immigration among its priorities in the first half of 2010. Gonzi described illegal immigration as a very big challenge implicating not only Mediterranean countries, but all of Europe. Spain has about 5.6 million immigrants in a total population of 46.7 million. The biggest groups of non-European Union migrants include Moroccans, Ecuadorians and Colombians.On October 29, the Spanish parliament approved a draft law allowing for undocumented immigrants to be held in detention centres for up to 60, instead of the current 40, days. The opposition conservatives accused Zapatero’s socialist government of not doing enough to curb illegal immigration, while leftist legislators said the law allowed for migrants to be held for longer than criminal suspects. Charity, human rights and migrants’ organizations criticized the law, with the human rights group Amnesty International saying it contained more shadows than light. Immigrant organizations say the law criminalizes migrants, and demand the closure of detention centres. The law also toughens some other conditions for migrants, such as the right to bring family members to Spain. The reform will modify Spain’s immigration law for the fourth time in eight years. Critics have described the reform as unnecessary, given that increased frontier controls and Spain’s economic crisis have cut down the influx of migrants.