As Europe and the United States Face Similar Migration Challenges, Spain Can Act as a Bridge
WASHINGTON, DC – Spain and the United States both receive their greatest number of immigrants from Latin America and have worked collaboratively together on displacement crises and other migration issues. As shared migration challenges dominate debate on both sides of the Atlantic, a new Migration Policy Institute (MPI) commentary makes the case that Spain can serve as a vital bridge in the transatlantic policy conversation.
The commentary by former Spanish Secretary of State for Immigration and Emigration Anna Terrón Cusí, who is MPI’s newest senior fellow, and MPI President Andrew Selee notes that while the focus is on irregular migration and the inefficiencies within asylum systems, countries in the transatlantic space face real labor demands. However, despite aging native-born populations, the United States and EU countries have yet to fully come to terms with how to address long-term labor needs.
Spain, which plays a significant role in EU debates on migration policy, has an active legal immigration system (reinforced by new legislation in 2022) and extensive experience in circular migration programs with Morocco and other countries, including in Latin America. Spain also has increased its cooperation with the United States on managing shared migration flows from Latin America. For example, Spain is taking part in recently established Safe Mobility Offices (SMOs) in Latin America, which permit considering people for resettlement or labor mobility pathways much closer to their places of origin rather than seeing them arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“An inclusive, transatlantic dialogue on migration among multiple stakeholders would help provide a more global perspective on how to address the challenges of border management, humanitarian protection and labor migration on both sides of the Atlantic,” Terrón and Selee write. “Spain, in particular, can play a vital role as a bridge between the two hemispheres.”
Read the commentary here: www.migrationpolicy.org/news/spain-bridge-transatlantic-migration-dialogue.