That, at the end of October, he killed 218 people and ravaged almost 80 municipalities, most of the Valencian Community. The measure will be approved on Tuesday in the Council of Ministers as part of a package of measures with which extensions and the granting of immigrants who lived or worked in devastated areas will also be facilitated. The regularization, with which authorizations of residence and work of one year will be granted to those affected and their most direct relatives, will benefit at least 25,000 people, according to approximate administration calculations. It is expected that the set of measures will have a much greater impact and that, potentially, the 98,000 non -community foreigners already registered in the area can facilitate procedures.
Automatic extensions were already a tool that served as a mattress to foreigners in the pandemic, but finding regularizations referents in case of catastrophe must be receded until 2004. A few hours after the 11M terrorist massacre, in which almost 200 people died , President José María Aznar announced
The text that will be approved this Tuesday is now. The regularization was part of that package of measures that should have been approved before the end of the year, but ended up falling from the last draft. There were legal doubts and strong reluctance of ministries, such as interior. Migrations decided, then, to move forward, first, the extensions to, then decide, whether or not it advanced with the measures for immigrants in an irregular situation. But everything was delayed – 100 days have been completed since the Dana – and the process has only been unlocked thanks to the pressure of the unions, the favorable opinion of the State Advocacy and the visit of Pedro Sánchez to Valencia last 23 January.
The way in which immigrants will be regularized without papers is a residence authorization “due to exceptional circumstances” that those registered foreigners (or by appointment to do so) may request in any of the municipalities affected prior to November 4, 2024 . In the case of foreign relatives of fatal victims of the DANA, this authorization will be valid for five years.
Fabián Leal, a 49 -year -old Colombian migrant, his wife and 14 -year -old son will be some of the candidates to obtain that residence permit, who will return the certainty he lost when emigrating three years ago and remain in Spain in an irregular situation. With a work authorization, and consequently, a payroll, could access all the aids deployed by the municipalities – in its case of Alfafar – for the families affected by the DANA. “For many procedures in this municipality we don’t even exist. Our names are not on the lists, ”he laments. Loyal, which performs small electrical reparation tasks paid in “black”, can be registered as a freelancer or be hired by a company if it achieves its papers. “I have received several offers that I have not been able to sign in my situation,” he emphasizes. He could also fly to Colombia to visit his family. “It is the possibility of being free. We can move freely through this country, but we always have the feeling of restlessness in tow. ”
The automatic concession of extensions and renovations will benefit students, volunteers, but above all to the holders of long -term authorizations whose validity expires between July 30, 2024 and April 1, 2025. The instruction aims to prevent immigrants from ending In irregularity because they cannot renew their permits or because, after the storm, they no longer meet the requirements to obtain them. , foreigners have encountered specific situations that have complicated their working and family life. Those who lost employment because their company was severely affected by the storm and are pending to renew their residence authorizations has an added problem because they have stopped meeting the requirements. Flexibility also applies to those who achieved their authorization thanks to the registration of social security of a job that never materialized because of the storm. All requests will have preferential processing and will only be denied for reasons of public order, security or public health.
Nilka Baena, also Colombian, was unemployed a few days after the passage of the Dana. This 46 -year -old woman worked two years in Massanasa taking care of an older person who was transferred to a residence after the floods. He says that a residence permit would not only make it easier for him to find an apartment in Valencia, “where it is impossible to find housing if you do not have a payroll that shows your income.” Obtaining the papers would also allow you to access the entire range of services that you have been left out. He says that he could open a bank account or that could be registered in the employment courses offered by the municipalities. She is mainly concerned about the situation of her 15 -year -old daughter. He fears that after finishing the baccalaureate he cannot continue his training at a university or perform a higher training course. “It would give us the possibility of integrating into society,” summarizes Baena.
This is the third initiative of regularization of migrants who are now on the table. The new Foreigner Regulation, approved last November, is not strictly regularization, but it does include mechanisms that will grant permits by unusual roads. In parallel, the popular legislative initiative is still discussed in Congress and that remains stuck between the reluctance of the right and the indefinition of the PSOE.
The instructions that will be approved on Tuesday respond to demands of businessmen, civil society and the two major unions. CC OO has pointed out “the importance” of these measures that the union itself proposed, although it has regretted that “a lot of time has been lost since they set out.” In any case, José Antonio Moreno, confederal responsible for Migration and Asylum, claims that the administration deploy the necessary means to avoid the traffic jam. “As will happen with the new regulation, nothing will be effective without adequate provision of material and human means to implement the measures.”
With information from Luis Enrique Velasco.
