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16 June 2004
MADRID – Campaigners fighting for a change in the law relating to immigration presented the government with a petition Wednesday supported by 150 groups.
The petition was signed by 48,069 people across Spain.
Campaigners called for changes to the Foreigners’ Law, which governs immigration.
They also claimed that if you are a legal resident you should be classed as a European Union citizen, even if you are from a country outside the EU.
They said this should be incorporated into the new European Constitution, which will be debated at a meeting of EU heads of state in Brussels Thursday.
Medinaceli Parrilla, spokeswoman of the group of non-governmental organisations, said they were calling for changes in residency rights for immigrants.
The petition said: “The Foreigners’ Law impides the completion of administration relating to work and social security conditions of hundreds of thousands of immigrants who live in Spain and who are condemned to live illegally.”
The campaign follows a large-scale demonstration by hundreds of immigrants who stormed a cathedral in Barcelona nearly two weeks ago to demand a change in the law.
Spanish prime minister Jose Lluis Rodriguez Zapatero has promised to reform immigration regulations.
[Copyright EFE with Expatica]
Subject: Spanish news