An Overview of Foreigners’ Rights in the Spanish Legal Order
Isaac Martín Delgado
Profesor de Derecho Administrativo at the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha
Immigration is a recent phenomenon in Spain. Its relevance to public opinion and the political agenda has created an avalanche of legislation frequently modified in recent years. Because of this, immigration has become a political problem. The Spanish immigration policy generally succeeds in meeting its aims indicated by the European Union policy. It has indeed achieved a heightened control of migratory swings and improved the integration of foreigners and the cooperation with the States where the immigrants come from. Nonetheless, these objectives have not been translated into more rights for immigrants. This paper offers a general overview of the legal status of foreigners (rights, freedoms and duties, as well as the conditions to enter and reside in Spain) and analyzes the main Acts and presents a deep study of the Constitutional Court case- law on the matter.
