Gipuzkoa has an "open attitude" towards immigration and a "positive view" of coexistence

Gipuzkoa has an "open attitude towards immigration" with a "high degree of acceptance and a good view of coexistence", as can be seen from the study carried out by the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa and the Begirune Foundation on the evolution of society's opinion on immigration.

Ion Gambra, Foral Director of Human Rights and Democratic Culture, has presented the study "Attitudes, Situations and Xenophobic Narratives in Gipuzkoa", together with representatives of Respect Gorka Moreno and Xabier Aierdi.

"This report shows that Guipuzcoan society is aware of the reality and complexity of migration, as well as its willingness to integrate those who come from outside," Gambra said, adding that "looking to the future" is "one of our main challenges as a territory and as a society."

It has also reiterated the need to"overcome prejudices" in order to meet the challenge of demographic and social transformation.

It explains that this study has been carried out on the basis of three complementary approaches: analysis of the 2024 Ikuspegi Barometer with 400 face-to-face surveys; specific analysis of xenophobia with 900 telephone surveys distributed by region; and nine qualitative discussion groups throughout the territory.

According to the results, "only 8 per cent of the population refers to immigration as one ofthe main problems in the territory, far behind issues such as the economy (55 per cent), health (44.8 per cent) or housing (42 per cent) ". Moreover, 82.8% of the population believe that immigration will increase over the next five years, a view that has been strengthened compared to 2019.

Along with this forecast, they clearly identify the main sources of migratory flows, first the Maghreb (86.8 per cent), then sub-Saharan Africa (72.8 per cent) and Latin America (58.3 per cent).

The study shows that "81% of the population is in favourof ensuring access to health care for migrants and 79% in favour of equal education ". This protection is reduced in "rights linked to more limited resources, such as social assistance (35.5 per cent) or protected housing (29.5 per cent), and is lower in areas such as family reunification (24.8 per cent) or voting rights (16.3 per cent)".

With regard to migration policies, the study shows that 34.5 per cent of the Guipuzcoan population is committed to regularizing all persons in an irregular situation and 46.8 per cent to regularizing only those in employment.

The most restrictive options, such asthe expulsion or general returnof migrants , are supported by only 6.5%. On the other hand, the willingness to expel those who have committed crimes fell from 69% to 40% between 2014 and 2024.

By contrast, the percentage of people who believe that diversity enriches cultural life increased from 50.5% in 2014 to 74.7% in 2024. In addition, "86.9 per cent of the population has a positive view of coexistence in their neighbourhoods or municipalities, although there are significant differences between regions. Urola Costa (95%) and Tolosaldea (91.1%) have a very good opinion, but Donostia (83%), Oarsoaldea (79.2%) and Txingudi (76%) get worse.