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

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 ImagesSpanish 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.