Almost 1 million illegal immigrants are applying for government-approved Spanish legalization.

The country’s political opposition has warned that the government’s program is unsafe and will only encourage human traffickers.

As a parting shot before he is ousted from office, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, mired in corruption scandals, is opening the gates of hell to the biggest invasion in history.

Around 900,000 illegal migrants have applied to regularize their status in Spain as part of an amnesty. This figure will almost double the expected number of requests, the country’s Migration Ministry has said.

Before the program’s April launch, Spanish authorities expected around half a million people to apply.

However, refugee organization CEAR said on Monday that the number would exceed 1 million by the time the amnesty ends in two weeks.

The leader of the opposition People’s Party (PP), Alberto Nunez Feijoo, earlier this year called the initiative ’unfair, unsafe, and unsustainable.’

He warns that it only encourages organized crime by human traffickers who smuggle people into the country.

The PP said separately that giving documents to foreigners made no sense when Spaniards see how their public services are impoverished day by day.

Opponents of the measure have argued that large-scale regularization programs act as a pull factor, encouraging further illegal immigration by creating expectations of future amnesties.

Critics have also linked the initiative to mounting pressure on housing, healthcare, and other public services.

Despite Spain enduring one of the highest low-growth employment levels in Europe, the Migration Ministry said it has so far approved 40% of applications, granting some 360,000 temporary work permits.

Spain’s amnesty comes against the backdrop of rising migrant numbers across the EU.

A report by the Center for Research and Analysis on Migration at RFBerlin in April singled out Spain as the far-left-led country with the fastest-growing migrant population in the bloc.

It increased by 700,000, or 8%, in 2024 to reach 9.5 million, the paper said, citing Eurostat and UN Refugee Agency data.

The initiative also contrasts with a broader political shift in parts of Europe, where several governments have tightened immigration and asylum policies amid growing public concern over migration.

The foreign-born population in the EU reached a record 64.2 million last year, expanding by 20.2 million since 2010, according to the report. Let us hear your comments.

THANK YOU FOR SHARING WITH FRIENDS AND SOCIAL MEDIA.