Immigrant Journal April 27th

This article addresses a recent study which had been released which discussed the immigration trends of Barcelona. Without going into too great of detail, here are some the facts which were released that hold the greatest importance: roughly 15,000 babies with “foreign/immigrant” parents have been born in Barcelona since statistics have been kept, as of 2008 only 34% had a parent who was of Spanish nationality, El Raval section is comprised of roughly a 47% immigrant population, and many of these individuals are “here to stay.” Furthermore, it would seem that “new immigration has taken root in Catalonia” and these immigrants are primarily comprised of individuals of Italian, Ecuadorian, Pakistani, Bolivian, Peruvian, Chinese, and Moroccan decent.
Now, this sort of study is extremely important because it establishes a precursor for change that is about to occur in Barcelona. Essentially, these individuals are bringing their culture/way of life into Barcelona and are going to blend everything that they know with the Barcelonan outlook on life. Depending on the person that you talk to, this reality can be interpreted as either positive or negative. It is seemingly unimportant what my position on their presence will bring to Barcelona but one this is certain – they are going to influence the city in various ways. As is shown with the first fact, immigrant birth rate is fairly steady and does not look like it is going to decline any time soon. As such, this has a direct impact on everything from the social fabric of a particular neighborhood to crime rates. Additionally, the fact that 34% of these new babies have “mixed background” (Spanish parent and immigrant parent) has a direct impact on the Spanish/Catalan identity as well. I am not going to address “purity” because that has an innate negative connotation but people may slowly begin to lose the Catalan culture as it begins to blend with the culture of Morocco, Pakistan, etc. The third fact is directly related to how the social fabric of a particular area can be impacted by this growing immigrant population. It would seem that El Raval is become Barcelona’s “China town” of the city as so many immigrants are choosing to live here (mostly Pakistani). Therefore, the question must be raised of this area is truly Barcelonan or Pakistani?
Finally, the fact that these immigrants are “here to stay” should not come as a surprise but it highlights some very important facts. The first of these is the fact that Barcelona is clearly a prosperous city because the immigrants want to live/work here; otherwise, they would not be moving here for work. Secondly, this is a fact that compels the local government to seriously consider the “well being/existence” of these individuals within the political arena because their children will soon become citizens of Spain/Barcelona. To put it bluntly, even though some of these individuals may be illegal, their existence forces the city to address their needs.
This situation is interesting due to the fact that it closely resembles the reality that the United States of America has been forced to deal with for the better part of its existence (referencing immigration from Mexico/South America). Furthermore, it is intriguing when the recent immigration laws in Arizona are taken into account…anyway, I doubt that Barcelona is going to take such “extreme” measures [like my cowboy like/conservative brethren in Arizona] to address this immigration situation but they are going to need to consider in the near future.
http://www.lavanguardia.es/ciudadanos/noticias/20100427/53916673527/los-extranjeros-empadronados-y-nacidos-en-barcelona-suman-15.000-ciutat-vella-ildefons-cerda-argenti.html