The in-person procedure for the extraordinary regularization of immigrants starts this Monday in Lleida at the Social Security headquarters on Jordi Cortada street. Service will be provided from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and will have four reinforcement desks enabled for this procedure.
The procedure can also be done at the Post Office branches of Rambla Ferran and Segovia street, in this case from 8:30 to 17:30 hours. In all cases, it will be mandatory to have a prior appointment, which can be requested online or by phone.
A device that arrives with criticism for its scope
The forecast is that about 7,000 people can benefit from this regularization in Lleida. Despite this, from the Xarxa de Suport a la Regularització they consider that the planned deployment falls short for the expected demand in the entire territory.
"It is insufficient" - Nogay Ndiaye, spokesperson for the Xarxa de Suport a la Regularització
Ndiaye also stressed that the reinforcement planned for Jordi Cortada street is intended for the entire province. He also questioned the real accessibility of the online procedure for some of the potential applicants.
"How can you get it if you don't have a residence card?" - Nogay Ndiaye, spokesperson for the Xarxa de Suport a la Regularització
The spokeswoman also demanded speed from the central Government to specify to the collaborating social entities how exactly the applications should be processed, a question that continues to generate doubts at the start of the procedure.
Direct impact on the agricultural campaign and on employment
The start of this process enables the interested party to work throughout Spain, an effect that in Lleida is expected to have an immediate impact on the labor market. Different voices from the social sphere and the regularization process maintain that the measure will mobilize the labor market in various sectors of the demarcation.
The network of Third Sector entities foresees that the job search linked to the fruit campaign will multiply by three. The alert focuses on the coming weeks, with the usual arrival of seasonal workers from May and the additional incorporation of people who may now begin their regularization.
"To the seasonal workers who start arriving in May, all these people will be added this time" - Nogay Ndiaye, spokesperson of the Xarxa de Suport a la Regularització
First day with limited appointments
Ahead of Monday's session, sources familiar with the process point out that there will be a limited number of appointments granted. With this scenario, they rule out a saturation situation in the device's debut, although the potential volume of beneficiaries anticipates sustained pressure on the system in the coming days.
The start on Jordi Cortada street and in the two Post Offices will thus mark the first thermometer of a regularization with strong social and labor impact in Lleida, in full antechamber of the agricultural campaign.