.A Year Ends Marked by Hate Speech and Rising Global Racism

Even though irregular arrivals have decreased, NGOs denounce a response to a situation that remains “a grave humanitarian drama.”

Organizations defending the rights of migrants and refugees note that 2025 has been especially marked by the hardening of migration policies in both Spain and the European Union, and they warn of a surge in hate speech against foreigners.

In this context, the Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid (CEAR) states that 2025 “will be remembered as the year the EU continued to push anti‑migration policies that jeopardize human rights.”

According to the NGO, these policies “threaten coexistence and social cohesion” and “give wings to hate speech and hate crimes.” The organization considers 2026 to be “decisive” for seeing which direction the EU and Spain will take on migration.

“There is still time to promote alternative migration policies and narratives that place people at the centre and end the constant scapegoating suffered by migrants and refugees, including many children and adolescents without family references, who are criminalised and stigmatised with impunity,” the statement reads.

CEAR adds that the new Asylum Law, needed to align Spanish legislation with the European Migration and Asylum Pact, “is an opportunity for the Spanish government to drive and lead a different Europe that does not renounce its foundational values and looks to the future with hope.”

Genocide, Open Wars and Global Fracture: How 2025 Ends

Accem stresses that the migration situation “remains complex and constitutes a grave humanitarian drama,” despite a recorded drop in irregular arrivals and deaths compared with 2024 and 2023.

• From 1 January to 15 December 2025, a total of 35,935 people arrived in Spain by sea and land, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
• Accem notes that this figure “highlights the extreme danger of routes where thousands continue to risk their lives in search of protection and safety.”

Accem also warns of an increase in xenophobic and hateful discourse, which has led to “serious incidents” and “threatens coexistence, social cohesion and fundamental rights.” The organisation calls for a perspective grounded in human rights, solidarity, and shared responsibility.

It further highlights the “stigmatisation and lack of protection” that such rhetoric creates for unaccompanied migrant minors, who “have become one of the main targets” of these messages, directly affecting their safety and well‑being.

The NGO expresses concern over the “drift” of migration and asylum policies in Spain’s neighbouring countries, the United States, and within the EU, noting “ever more restrictive approaches toward refugees and migrants.” Accem is particularly worried about how the European Migration and Asylum Pact will be implemented, especially regarding measures such as opening asylum‑seeker centres in third countries or designating certain states as “safe countries.”

Red Acoge judges that Spain’s 2025 migration measures represent a “disappointing” and “very limited” balance, with “piecemeal advances” but “no address of structural failures and not free of contradictions.” The organisation also criticises the lack of “clear” and “decisive” actions to end the “alarming situation” of hate speech against migrant populations, warning that this has “serious consequences” for foreigners and society as a whole.

Finally, the group denounces the “lack of political will” to protect migrant children, alerting that the refusal of some regional governments puts these minors at risk.

“No child can be left unprotected because of political disputes,” the statement concludes.