A small town making big headlines around immigration

Flanked by farmland and nestled among the deep valleys of central Spain, few in Villamalea, a town of 4,200 people, expected to find their tranquil home splashed across Spanish media this summer.

- By Ashifa Kassam VILLAMALEA

"I've never been contacted by so many media outlets in my life," said José Núñez Pérez, the conservative mayor of Villamalea. With a laugh, he added: “It made me question, just what have we done here?”

Everyone wanted to speak to him about the same thing; a town council motion, approved unanimously and across party lines, calling on the central government to push forward with a stalled proposal to regularise undocumented migrants in Spain.

“To us, it was the most natural thing in the world,” said Núñez Pérez, as he greeted residents in the town’s central plaza. In recent decades, migrants from across the globe had been attracted to Villamalea for the many jobs on offer.

The steady supply of labour had helped turn the town into an agricultural heavyweight - about 70% of the mushrooms sold in Spain come from here - while also transforming Villamalea into a rich tapestry of residents whose roots trace back to 32 countries.

For the 11 town councillors who backed the motion to grant papers to undocumented migrants - from Núñez Pérez's People's party to the Socialists and the United Left - this reality took precedence over party lines.

"We didn't even debate it, we were all onboard right away," said Núñez Pérez. "There's a lot of work to be done here. And there could be even more the problem for these companies is that they can't find enough people to work."