The Iberian Peninsula is on fire. Both Portugal and Spain are grappling with a flood of illegal immigration that has ignited political polarization, public unrest, and a surge in nationalist sentiment.
While these movements are often dismissed as “far-right” (whatever that means in 2024), the truth is far more nuanced. They stem from a basic, instinctual drive to protect one’s homeland, culture, and community from absolute chaos.
Spain and Portugal stand on the brink, staring into the abyss. Their leaders, in repeated patterns of recklessness, have opened doors that no one may ever be able to shut.
In Portugal, the rise of the Chega party captures this dramatic shift in public sentiment. Aptly named “Enough!,” it reflects the utter disdain for a government that not only failed to regulate migration but actively embraced an open-border agenda. Chega’s surge in electoral support is no accident. It makes complete sense. After years of watching their communities transform, grappling with rising crime, and enduring social tensions fueled by uncontrolled immigration, the Portuguese have had enough.
The damage, however, may already be beyond repair.
Colonizers now colonized
Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, now president-elect of the European CouncilHoracio Villalobos/Getty Images
For nearly a decade, Prime Minister António Costa was at the helm, implementing some of the most liberal immigration policies in Europe. From his rise to power in 2015 until his recent ousting, Costa’s government promoted lax registration for foreign workers, even those entering the country illegally, and accelerated pathways to citizenship.
The media hailed it as a progressive stance, but it left the country vulnerable to a massive influx of migrants, particularly from economically disadvantaged nations like Angola. The result was brutal. Within just five years, the immigrant population surged by 70%. By 2022, over 780,000 foreigners were legally residing in Portugal — more than double the number than when Costa first took office.
And this figure only includes the documented population. To put this in perspective, Portugal has a population of roughly 10 million. This mass influx is the equivalent of 26 million foreign nationals flooding into the United States — three times the population of NYC. Let that sink in for a second.
The strain on Portugal is obvious to anyone with a functioning brain. Recent demonstrations in Lisbon, with banners demanding the expulsion of immigrants who commit crimes, reflect a growing sense of fear and resentment among ordinary citizens.
Costa’s government, in its eagerness to appear progressive, failed to anticipate or manage the long-term consequences of its decisions. Now, the social unrest rippling through the country is the direct fallout from these disastrous missteps. Though Costa is gone, the damage from his suicidal policies lingers. In truth, the damage will continue to unravel, likely with tragic consequences, for years to come.
Adiós, España
Across the border in Spain, the situation is even more dire, as immigration reform specialist Michael McManus has observed. In 2023 alone, nearly 57,000 migrants entered Spain illegally — almost double the number from the previous year. The Canary Islands, geographically isolated and economically fragile, have borne the brunt of this surge, with record numbers of boats arriving from West Africa.
North African and sub-Saharan migrants arriving in the Canary Islands last monthEuropa Press News/Getty Images
Spain’s vulnerability, as McManus cautions, lies in its geography. It is separated from Africa by just nine miles of sea at its narrowest point, making it an easy target for human smugglers and traffickers.
The Spanish government’s response has been, for lack of a better word, atrocious. The ruling PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party) has doubled down on its open-door policy, prioritizing an expansive amnesty program for undocumented immigrants.
It is worth noting that the PSOE has dominated modern democratic Spain longer than any other political party. From 1982 to 1996 under Felipe González, from 2004 to 2011 under José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and again since 2018 under Pedro Sánchez, the PSOE has shaped Spain’s trajectory for decades.
In other words, the Spanish people have repeatedly entrusted their future to a party that has presided over — and inarguably accelerated — the country’s gradual decline. The tragic reality is that the electorate, through continued support of the PSOE, bears some complicity in Spain’s demise.
As McManus points out, this is not Spain’s first brush with mass amnesty. In 2005, the country granted amnesty to 800,000 illegal migrants following the devastating Madrid terrorist attacks that killed 191 people. Rather than curbing illegal immigration, the amnesty sent a clear message to the world. Specifically, migrants could enter Spain illegally and, if undetected long enough, benefit from future legalization schemes. The result was a surge in illegal crossings. Between 2005 and 2009, over 55,000 undocumented migrants entered one of Europe’s most celebrated countries.
The future looks bleak
Spain and Portugal stand on the brink, staring into the abyss. Their leaders, in repeated patterns of recklessness, have opened doors that no one may ever be able to shut. The demographic tides sweeping across these nations are not just altering their character — they are erasing it. The Iberian Peninsula, once famed for its sun-drenched shores, now lies under an ominous shadow.
What’s unfolding in Portugal and Spain reflects a grim reality gripping Europe at large. This is not the birth of multicultural societies but the slow, agonizing death of nations too blind, too complacent to recognize the mortal danger. Europe’s heart beats weaker, and soon, I fear, it may stop altogether.