This approach underscores the opposing responses to the polarizing issue of migration, which has consumed governments across continental Europe and the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781389993_278_default.jpg\")
A drone view of a British Border Force vessel carrying migrants arriving at Ramsgate Harbour, in Ramsgate, England, on March 6. (Chris J. Ratcliffe\/Reuters)<\/p>\n
That divergence provided a remarkable backdrop for Pope Leo’s visit to Spain\u2019s Canary Islands on Thursday and Friday. The most southerly point in Europe \u2014 closer to Africa than Spain \u2014 it’s one of the world’s most deadly maritime migration paths, where more than 1,300 people have perished<\/a> in the last six months and tens of thousands have died in recent years.<\/p>\n “You have dreams that no one has the right to despise,” Leo told the audience, which included hundreds of recently arrived migrants.<\/p>\n He spoke directly from the Arguineguin dock, the main port of Gran Canaria.\u00a0It’s notoriously dubbed the “Dock of Shame” for the squalid conditions thousands of migrants had to endure in 2020,\u00a0when arrivals overwhelmed the island’s ability to cope.<\/p>\n “Your lives must be protected,” said the U.S.-born pontiff, underscoring his intent to make the compassionate treatment of migrants one of the hallmark issues of his papacy.\u00a0<\/p>\n WATCH | Pope Leo supports migrants in visit to Spain: Pope Leo urges compassion for migrants during Spain trip<\/p>\n During a visit to Spain\u2019s Canary Islands, Pope Leo urged compassion for migrants and asylum seekers. His comments align with the Spanish government\u2019s plan to grant legal residency to half a million undocumented migrants \u2014 making it an outlier in Europe.Spain’s pro-migrant policy<\/p>\n The Pope’s call may not have much resonance in large parts of Europe right now, but in Spain under socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez,\u00a0it has effectively become government policy.<\/p>\n “I think that every time that we make law close to reality, it’s a good thing,” said Oriol Nebot, a lawyer working with Catholic NGO C\u00e1ritas,\u00a0which is helping migrants with the “regularization” process.<\/p>\n Many new arrivals already hold jobs and send their children to Spanish schools. Legalizing their status simply acknowledges existing circumstances, Nebot said.<\/p>\n “It’s a win for these people because it’s also a measure to dignify [their] situation. But also for the government, it’s a good measure, because these people now can pay taxes.”<\/p>\n Wendy Solorzano,\u00a0who’s 42 years old and a single mother from Honduras, hopes to qualify. She has a teenage son and a baby with cerebral palsy who needs therapy and special equipment that’s unavailable to the family in their home country.<\/p>\n People with Central and South American passports don’t need a visa to come to Spain as tourists.\u00a0As in Solorzano’s case,\u00a0they often arrive legally at airports but remain past the 90-day period for visitors.<\/p>\n She acknowledges the burden her needs put on Spanish social services but says she can make an important contribution to her new home.<\/p>\n “I’m a teacher and I can also help the Spanish people to get my knowledge,\u00a0as an [English] teacher,” she said in an interview.\u00a0“I can be a good person here.”<\/p>\n ‘Extraordinary regularization’<\/p>\n Support for the “extraordinary regularization” program is far from universal, though.<\/p>\n The opposition People’s Party has accused<\/a> the Spanish government of trying to stack future elections by creating a generation of potentially grateful voters. It also claims the taxes new residents will pay won’t come close to offsetting the cost of the government services they will consume.<\/p>\n The far-right Vox party is even more strident<\/a>, warning that the policy amounts to an invitation for more people to ignore Spain’s border controls and show up illegally.<\/p>\n In fact, this is the seventh time in 40 years that Spain’s government has offered a version of the same policy. While the current Sanchez government is socialist,\u00a0parties on both the political left and right have adopted the mass regularization of migrants in the past.<\/p>\n Economist Miquel Puig told CBC News that while there may be ethical and compassionate reasons to implement such a policy, economically,\u00a0the measures have helped Spain become addicted to cheap labour.<\/p>\n “What is not good is that we are repeating this many, many times, because we are allowing economic sectors to depend very much on low-paid workers,” he said. “And those sectors are growing.”<\/p>\n Puig says this has the effect of suppressing the country’s average wages and overall productivity, creating an unbalanced economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n The U.K. perspective<\/p>\n While other European countries have made it easier for specific groups of migrants \u2014 such as workers in the agricultural sector \u2014 to become legal residents,\u00a0in the current political climate, Spain is a notable outlier for the scope and frequency of its “normalization” efforts.<\/p>\n The ideological outlook in the United Kingdom toward migrants is the polar opposite.<\/p>\n Whereas Spain sees economic opportunity in letting illegal migrants become residents, successive recent governments in Britain have taken steps to make the country as unappealing to migrants as possible<\/a>.<\/p>\n The U.K. is fast-tracking deportations and in the process of making it even harder for long-term residents to obtain permanent residency.<\/p>\n One of the major differences between Spain, Britain and other European countries is that the majority of those applying under the Spanish legalization scheme are from South or Central America, especially Peru and Colombia.<\/p>\n They share the Spanish language and Roman Catholic religion, arguably making integration easier.\u00a0In 2025, roughly 70 per cent of Spanish asylum seekers came from Latin America<\/a>, whereas the U.K. Home Office says heavily Muslim nations \u2014 including Pakistan, Eritrea, Iran, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sudan \u2014 now make up almost half of all British asylum claims<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some of those, such as migrants from Sudan and other African nations, often attempt to cross the English Channel and enter the country by boat,\u00a0while other claimants arrive by plane and overstay their visas<\/a>.<\/p>\n Of late, anti-Muslim sentiment has been a strong influence on British immigration policy.\u00a0Right-wing rhetoric has fanned concerns about social cohesion and anxiety over integrating Muslim populations. A 2025 YouGov poll<\/a> reported that 41 per cent of the British public explicitly believes Muslim immigrants have a negative impact on the country.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781389994_537_default.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Wendy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781389994_667_default.jpg\")
Wendy Solorzano and her family are from Honduras. They are hoping to qualify under a new Spanish government program that allows migrants to live and work in the country legally. (Catriona Koenig\/CBC)<\/p>\n![\"Oriol](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781389995_295_default.jpg\")
Oriol Nebot, a lawyer working with Catholic NGO C\u00e1ritas, is helping migrants in Barcelona apply to stay in Spain legally. (Catriona Koenig\/CBC)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781389995_963_default.jpg\")
A man wears a ‘Stop the Boats’ hoodie as police and their vehicles block a road to stop anti-immigrant protesters from reaching Sandyknowes Roundabout in Belfast on Wednesday. (Isabel Infantes\/Reuters)<\/p>\n
![\"Pope](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781389996_721_default.jpg\")
Pope Leo XIV speaks during a meeting with organizations working with migrants at the Port of Arguineguin, during his apostolic journey on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, on Thursday. (Borja Suarez\/Reuters)<\/p>\n