As EU tightens borders, Spain legalizes 500,000 migrants episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 2, 2026 · 22 MIN

As EU tightens borders, Spain legalizes 500,000 migrants

from The Take · host Al Jazeera

Spain's government will grant legal status to undocumented migrants currently living in the country. The decree, passed after years of grassroots campaigning, will potentially impact about 500,000 migrants and comes in stark contrast to the anti-immigration sentiment in other EU countries. Why has the Spanish government decided to embrace its migrant population now? In this episode: Marcos Bartolomé, Producer, Al Jazeera Episode credits: This episode was produced by Melanie Marich, with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Chloe K. Li, Tuleen Barakat, Alexandra Locke, Marcos Bartolomé, Tamara Khandaker, and our guest host, Kevin Hirten. It was edited by Kylene Kiang and Tamara Khandakher.  The Take production team is Marcos Bartolomé, Sonia Bhagat, Spencer Cline, Sarí el-Khalili, Sarí el-Khalili, Tamara Khandaker, Kylene Kiang, Phillip Lanos, Chloe K. Li, Melanie Marich, Haleema Shah, and Noor Wazwaz. Our editorial interns are Tuleen Barakat and Maya Hamadah. Our guest host is Kevin Hirten.  Our engagement producers are Adam Abou-Gad and Vienna Maglio. Andrew Greiner is lead of audience engagement. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.  Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

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As EU tightens borders, Spain legalizes 500,000 migrants

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This episode was published on February 2, 2026.

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Spain's government will grant legal status to undocumented migrants currently living in the country. The decree, passed after years of grassroots campaigning, will potentially impact about 500,000 migrants and comes in stark contrast to the...

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