Sahrawi Stateless People Excluded from Migrant Regularization, AM-CC Claims

The Majorero Assembly–Canary Islands Coalition (AM‑CC) has condemned the exclusion of applicants for statelessness from the migrant regularization process approved on Tuesday by the Council of Ministers. The group says the affected individuals are largely Sahrawis from the former Spanish colony of Western Sahara.

AM‑CC announced it will launch an initiative in the Parliament of the Canary Islands to urge the regional government to intervene with the State, seeking inclusion of these people in the regularization scheme under conditions comparable to those granted to asylum seekers.

“Spain has a historic debt to the Sahrawi people and cannot keep turning its back on them for political reasons. This is not merely an administrative issue; it is a matter of justice and dignity for a people who have been waiting for answers for decades,” the party said in a statement.

Asylum Seekers Yes, Stateless Applicants No

AM‑CC adds its protest to those raised by lawyers, Sahrawi social organizations, and the “Regularización Ya” movement, which promoted the initiative after the Council of State’s ruling became public.

The party points out that alternatives exist to incorporate this group, yet a differentiated treatment persists for stateless applicants. According to AM‑CC:

• “A measure designed to provide a pathway for asylum seekers who did not fit into the previous reform and to regularize people in irregular administrative situations creates a comparative grievance when it excludes those applying for statelessness, even though their legal situation mirrors that of asylum seekers.”
• “Asylum seekers who have not received a decision can still access this residence authorization, while stateless applicants in the same legal position are left out.”

AM‑CC also notes that, unlike asylum seekers, individuals processing a statelessness claim are not granted work authorization during the procedure, a circumstance that, in their view, hampers integration and stability.