Pilar Cancela, currently Secretary of Migrations, was for 7 years the person responsible for capturing the immigrant vote for the PSOE
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Spain's Secretary of State for Migration, Pilar Cancela, has found herself at the center of controversy for promoting a massive regularization of immigrants by decree. After the measure, it became known that for seven years she was the main official responsible for policies aimed at capturing the immigrant votefor the Spanish Socialist Party.
Between 2017 and 2024, Cancela held the position of Secretary of Migration Policies and PSOE Exterior within the Federal Socialist Executive Committee. From there, she actively promoted the electoral participation of foreign residents in Spain and of Spanish emigrants abroad, in line with the political strategy of President Pedro Sánchez.
Pilar Cancela junto al comunista Pedro Sánchez
From the party apparatus to the Government
During that period, Cancela led campaigns aimed at encouraging the vote of foreigners in municipal elections, especially citizens from countries with reciprocity agreements with Spain.
She also held meetings with emigrant groups and took part in party activities at socialist headquarters abroad, promoting the Government's policies.
One of the central pillars of her work was the dissemination of the so-called Democratic Memory Law —known as the “Grandchildren's Law”—. Through this initiative she facilitated access to Spanish nationality for descendants of exiles. Cancela offered talks and training sessions to provide guidance on naturalization procedures, in coordination with the consular network of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Uno de los ejes centrales de su labor fue la difusión de la llamada Ley de Memoria Democrática
According to official estimates that are not yet closed, more than one million people have already begun naturalization procedures under this regime, while another 1.3 million have requested an appointment to start the process. Nearly half a million files already have a favorable decision.
In this context, the Government strengthened the digitalization of consulates to speed up the procedures. The decision is framed in the trajectory toward the next general elections, for which the ruling party is using the state structure to its advantage.
Mass regularization by decree
Currently, the Secretary of State for Migration headed by Cancela is responsible for implementing a massive regularization of immigrants by royal decree, that is, without Congressional oversight.
The scheme provides for more lenient requirements than usual, allowing any type of immigrant to gain access to Spanish citizenship. Those who have applied for international protection before December 31, 2025, or who can prove five months of residence in Spain, will be able to obtain it, without the need for registration in the municipal census.
El esquema prevé requisitos más laxos que los habituales, permitiendo a cualquier clase de inmigrante acceder a la ciudadanía española
In addition, the absence of a criminal record may be justified by means of a simple sworn statement, which has intensified criticism over the lack of effective controls.
In the face of criticism, Cancela did not accept that the measure has electoral purposes. “A regularization is not carried out so that people will vote for us. It is done so that people can live with dignity and rights,” she stated on social media.
However, during her time as the official responsible for Migration Policies for PSOE, the official had explicitly called on foreign residents to vote in order to stop “xenophobic and racist discourses" coming from right-wing and far-right sectors.
The dual role played by Cancela has reignited the debate in Spain about the political use of migration policy and the institutional limits of the Executive Branch.
