Hard-right party Vox has sparked backlash online for its reaction to the news that Spain will regularise some 500,000 undocumented migrants.
The decision was signed off on Tuesday by the Council of Ministers and will be implemented through a reform of the country’s immigration laws, following a political agreement with Podemos.
Vox has been left fuming over the proposal, with its leader Santiago Abascal releasing a video statement vowing to do everything he can to stop the measure – while demanding ‘Spaniards must react’.
His party also shared an AI-created image showing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez welcoming a long queue of undocumented migrants into Spain, as it asked followers to sign a petition against the decision.
The graphic, however, is filled only with people of Arabic, African and Middle Eastern heritage, with some donning turbans and hijabs.
This is despite the fact that more than 90% of undocumented migrants in Spain come from the Americas, mostly Colombia.
According to the conservative think tank Funcas, the number of undocumented migrants in Spain had risen from 107,409 in 2017 to 837,938 in 2025.
The data shows that the majority come from the Americas, accounting for 760,000 of the total.
Specifically, the largest groups are Colombian (nearly 290,000), Peruvian (almost 110,000), and Honduran (90,000).
African (50,000), Asian (15,000), and European (14,000) nationalities are significantly fewer.
One X user wrote beneath the image created by Vox: ‘Are you playing dumb? You know perfectly well that they’re not Moroccans.
‘They don’t wear turbans. Why don’t you post one of these AI-generated bull**** images depicting Latin Americans? 90% of them are irregulars. And they’re double the number of foreign population compared to Africans.’
Another fumed: ‘How ridiculous your morophobia is when you know perfectly well that the vast majority of people who will benefit (approx. 90%) will be Latin Americans.’
One branded the image unrealistic, given that the migrants are all seen holding passports.
He said: ‘Residency is NOT citizenship. They will NOT have a Spanish passport. They will NOT be able to vote in general elections.
‘They WILL be able to sign employment contracts and pay IRPF social security contributions to the state coffers. And they will be able to pay other taxes.’
In a video message posted today, Abascal embarked on a diatribe against the ‘mafia’ of PM Pedro Sanchez.
He accused the ‘corruption’ of the left-wing government of ‘killing’ the 46 people who died in last week’s rail accidents in Cordoba and Barcelona.
‘Corruption kills,’ he added, ‘the invasion (of migrants) also kills… this regularisation of 500,000, will signal to millions of others, and cause the collapse of health services, housing and security.
‘Us Spaniards must react. At Vox we have already made contact with our allies across Europe, to put in place all measures possible against this new crime of Sanchez, that attacks the sovereignty and coexistence.
‘We will also seek every legal route to stop this attack on Spaniards.’
