Spain’s conservative Partido Popular (PP) on 24 September registered an expedited bill in the Senate to amend Article 58 of the Immigration Law. The text would give border officials explicit authority to turn back people who reach Ceuta or Melilla by swimming or on small boats, mirroring the “hot return” practice already struck down by the Supreme Court in July. PP senator and drafter Alma Ezcurra argues that the reform is needed to plug a legal vacuum left by that ruling, insisting it will “align Spain with Italy and Greece, whose coastguards can refuse disembarkation when national security is at stake.” Human-rights groups counter that the proposal violates the non-refoulement principle and risks collective expulsions banned under EU law. The party’s absolute majority in the Senate virtually guarantees initial passage, but the measure will face a tougher fight in the lower chamber, where the governing PSOE-Sumar coalition and regional parties hold sway. Interior Minister Grande-Marlaska has already hinted he would seek a constitutional review if the final text is not “fully consistent” with international obligations. For global-mobility managers the legislative tussle is more than politics: a change in rejection procedures could alter how quickly asylum-seekers are channelled into reception centres, affecting availability of accommodation in border regions and potentially delaying corporate relocations that rely on the same housing stock. Law-firm advisers say companies employing third-country nationals in strategic projects should keep records proving purpose of stay and employment ties, as a stricter frontier regime often leads to more document checks even for work-permit holders.
Source: SpainNews.co.uk
