Yes, migrants are key to Spain’s economic boom. But Pedro Sánchez’s decision to regularise 500,000 people should rather be applauded for its humanity

When I left New York for Madrid, starting a new life with my then boyfriend, I was definitely looking at the world through rose-tinted glasses. Despite being the daughter of migrants from the Caribbean, it seemed like a relatively easy choice to settle into undocumented status once my tourist visa expired, all in the name of love and adventure. I understood that my US passport conferred many privileges that would buoy me.

When the heartache of our breakup came, I suddenly realised what it meant to be more than 3,000 miles away from close friends and family. In a daze one winter morning, I lost my Manhattan street smarts just long enough to mope my way into a police raid on a group of manteros, people who sell counterfeit handbags on the street, often arriving in Spain from sub-Saharan nations.

Francheska Melendez is a freelance journalist based in Madrid