Decision within 90 days ” “

2005 is the year of the great “normalisación” in Spain: the amnesty that ought to regularize the position of some 800,000 irregular immigrants. The pros and cons of the measure are reported by the Italian Migranti-press agency, which recently visited the “Delegatión diocesana de migraciones” in the Spanish capital and met its head, Father Antonio M. Rodrigo . Thousands of migrants pass through these offices each day… “Some 13,000 passed through them in 2004, but this year a great many more are expected: it is the year of the great “normalisación” or regularization of foreign workers in Spain. From 7 February to 7 May: three months’ time to decide the fate of hundreds of thousands of foreigners”. The media have spoken of over 800,000 “sans papier” in the process of being normalized. Is the number slightly exaggerated? “Undoubtedly the number of foreigners in an irregular position is high, but I don’t think it reaches this figure; indeed the fear is that it will remain considerably below it. The trades unions themselves share this fear: from 7 February to the present day the applications so far presented by employers on behalf of their foreign workers are hardly more than 100,000. It is the employers themselves who are showing reluctance to regularize their workforce. In particular small businesses are tempted to leave things as they are, without seizing this unique opportunity to regularize their workforce: black-market labour is freer, more profitable. We are making a strong appeal to the civic and moral conscience of entrepreneurs not to penalize their employees by basing themselves on too self-interested a calculation”. But what are the main requisites to gain access to the amnesty? “The first is the registration of the foreigner in the register office of some town hall for at least 6 months, i.e. since 8 August 2004; this registration is compulsory in Spain also for irregular workers and is the condition for being able to benefit from healthcare and other social services. The second main requisite is the absence of pending penal charges in Spain or any other country, and the third – clearly the most decisive – is the signing, by the applicant and by his employer, of a regular labour contract of a duration of not less than 6 months, reducible to three in the agricultural sector. No particular conditions on housing are stipulated”. Are foreigners well informed about this unique opportunity? “There is a considerable effort of information, also on our part, through the press, brochures, and direct contacts. Foreigners naturally want to get more precise information about this government provision and we provide all the necessary details. We try to be close to them and to provide them with all the necessary counselling to help them deal with their applications”. It seems that 765,884 foreigners have registered at the Town Hall of Madrid over the last ten years. Too many? And where do the immigrants come from? “The figure is not exaggerated, indeed it is constantly growing. Immigrants from Ecuador, Romania and Colombia are at the top of the table. Latin Americans represent the majority, but the flows from Eastern Europe are growing; Ukrainians too are well represented. Immigrants from the Maghreb, especially Moroccans, on the other hand, have a strong presence in the south of the peninsula, but not in the Madrid area”. In what does your pastoral work consist? “Our first service, clearly, is the strictly pastoral one, and is aimed in the first place at providing specific religious assistance to the various ethnic groups. The situation of Latin Americans is less urgent, since they have no language difficulties in integrating with local parishes, but for them too there’s need for particular attention, especially in catechesis, due to their cultural peculiarities and background of religious formation. Another service, no less important, is that of raising the awareness of our civil and ecclesial world about the new reality of migration; to this end we offer a service that is both valuable and widespread in our parishes: that of ASTI (Associaciòn Solidaridad, Trabajores Inmigrantes), a creation of our Secretariat. Lastly, with a view to a wider-ranging apostolate, we provide various aids, including the manual “Pastoral de los Inmigrantes”, and a series of pamphlets (of which there are already 18) on particular aspects of this pastoral service; I would like in particular to mention no. 13 on “Active and responsible intercultural citizenship”, aimed both at foreigners and Spanish citizens”.