The president of the Social Solidarity Venezuela Association (ASSV) in the Canary Islands, an activist with a long history in the Venezuelan trade union struggle, has voiced her apprehension regarding the Spanish Government's decision to eliminate humanitarian residence for Venezuelans starting June 30. This measure, according to the association, would affect between 5,000 and 8,000 people in the archipelago, and potentially even more.

The activist, who arrived in the Canary Islands in 2019 fleeing her country, founded the ASSV to assist her compatriots and other migrants on the islands. The organization has denounced what it considers “institutional racism” and has fought for rights such as the land transport card and air and sea transport bonus for migrants, in addition to the homologation of driving licenses, suspended since 2022.

The association criticizes that the suppression of humanitarian residence, which was a “conquest” after a National Court decision in 2018 due to the Venezuelan crisis, overlaps with the period for extraordinary immigrant regularization. They argue that this coincidence could lead to a setback in the rights of Venezuelans who already have advanced procedures, forcing them into a temporary process that, after one year, will require an employment contract and other requirements to avoid irregular status.

From the ASSV, which has recently been registered as a collaborating entity for immigration, they propose a “just transition.” Their requests include that international protection applications from Venezuelans submitted before June 30 be resolved by granting humanitarian residence, as before; that those already in the asylum process also receive humanitarian residence; and that those with one-year humanitarian residence be able to renew it for a second year to qualify for Spanish nationality. They also request an extension of the June 30 deadline for extraordinary immigrant regularization in general, anticipating a significant bottleneck in immigration offices.