The legal system of immigration in Spain: continuous change.

Abstract

This paper provides a first analysis of the Organic Law (LO) 8/2000, which reformed the LO 4/2000 shortly after the latter was approved. This speedy modification was due LO 4/2000 having been approved at the end of the last legislature and against the will of the government in power. This legislative process has led to the break up of the basic consensus which had existed among the political parties and has given rise to a bitter, unbalanced social debate on how to address the issue of immigration. The reform involves alterations being made to almost all the articles of the LO 4/2000 and reveals a general change of orientation in this regard, as the emphasis is transferred from social integration to the control of migratory flows. However, from the technical, judicial point of view, the legal reform cannot be given a positive assessment. The whole legal process has failed to appreciate that the application or management of the legal framework and the instrumentation of specific policies on social integration are just as important as the legal framework itself; this erroneous focus on the issue raises serious questions regarding the future of immigration into Spain.