Spain is also becoming more risky for South American illegal immigrants, with the police reportedly given daily deportation quotas as the government attempts to close the door. For some, the economic and emotional equation of staying in Catalunya no longer adds up.
The quarterly study of the labour market, the Encuesta de Población Activa (ENA) published by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) revealed in July that unemployment in Spain had reached 20.09 percent. These official figures have a huge impact on the illegal migrant workforce.
Angela del Rosario Castillo from the Asociación de Mujeres Latinas sin Fronteras says that 60 percent of the women they see end up doing domestic work and that this job market has shrunk. Speaking to Metropolitan she said: “The crisis has meant that Spanish couples are doing more of the work in the home themselves and may now hire a girl for only three days rather than five. It’s the same at the banks where a girl may now only have two days work. The women have to look a lot harder.” Rosario Castillo, who came to Barcelona from Colombia in 2000 explains: “The roles in families have changed now. Since the crisis, construction work has dried up and so now it is often the man who stays at home either here or in the country of origin. Women have to earn double to sustain their households and send extra money home.”
Adding to an already difficult situation is the fact that Spain is tightening up on immigration. The government’s reported figures for 2009 showed 10,616 people were deported under the ley de extranjeria for staying here illegally. This is up 25 percent from 2008. New revisions of the immigration law were introduced in December, restricting the number of family members immigrants can bring over and extending the amount of time illegal immigrants can be held if found without papers.
As life becomes more difficult for immigrants in Spain, so it becomes more attractive to go home and finally reunite with children and family often not seen in years.
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