In Spain, there appears to be some disagreement about the total amount of minimum income recipients and how many of those people are immigrants—a hot button political topic. Claims circling on social media indicate nearly 97-percent of Spain’s minimum income recipients are immigrants. However, official data shows 82.4-percent are Spanish nationals. Exaggerated claims about immigrant populations in Amsterdam, Brussels, and London have also been debunked.
For example, only 37-percent of Amsterdam’s population was born outside the Netherlands. These discrepancies could fuel public fear and influence voter opinion, with many Europeans dissatisfied with the EU’s migration policy and calling for stronger border controls. Portugal has ended a policy allowing foreigners to enter and apply for residence permits later, and several Irish parties oppose the government’s liberal migration policy. This follows the EU’s new pact on migration and asylum, aiming to ensure fair distribution of migrants among member states.
