The Spanish government announces a regularization of immigrants, and the right and far right (a distinction that is becoming increasingly unnecessary, given how "traditional" right-wing parties are aligning themselves and adhering, everywhere, to the far-right's positions) immediately react with fury. It seems they should be pleased: after all, in their hate speech they always resort to the subterfuge of fighting illegal immigration. And they emphasize the adjective, even syllable-wise if necessary. illegalThis is what Xavier García Albiol, another byproduct of politics who has found his goldmine of votes and support in policies of violence, racism, and classism, recently did: in his view, the expulsion of 400 homeless people, the vast majority immigrants, was a misguided attempt to combat illegal immigration by the former B9 schools—using batons. The European and American far right says the same thing, almost unanimously.
Well then: the first necessary measure to stop illegal immigration is to regularize the status of immigrants. This is logical: it is a prerequisite for implementing social policies that promote social cohesion and the integration of those who have arrived seeking a more dignified life than the one they left behind. Regularizing immigrants combats organized crime, labor exploitation, the underground economy, and the criminal activity that thrives on immigration (it works in reverse to what the right wing often claims: immigrants don't "come to commit crimes"; on the contrary, it is crime that eagerly awaits their arrival). Eight (now nine) immigrant regularization processes have been carried out in Spain in the last forty years: three of them, incidentally, under Aznar's administration. It is true that there were none during Rajoy's presidency, making him the exception.
However, the parties of the so-called new right were quick to exclaim that the measure is a display of opportunism on the part of Pedro Sánchez (as always: don't they know that politics is the art of managing opportunities?) and that it promotes and accelerates "invasion" and "subordination." Black people, Arabs, and the poor—repugnant people: this isn't explicitly stated in official speeches, but it's implied. And just in case it wasn't clear enough, it's made plainly known to the dense underworld of social media and pseudo-media outlets. It's a message that always works: since the dawn of recorded history, xenophobia (hatred of those who are different, fear of outsiders) has been an almost instantaneous way to force a community, or a large part of that community, to close ranks. We are in a time of maximum mobility, massive population movements and abrupt demographic changes, which favors leaders who manage to get at the head of the pack of mistrust, fear and hatred.
