In the meeting on immigration today, the King called Morocco a “haven for migrants,” noting that the number of immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africa in Morocco has nearly quadrupled in the past few years.
The King acknowledged that many immigrants chose to flee their original destinations in Spain, France, and other European countries due to the recent global economic crisis, thereby, creating a new form of immigration where migrants move back to their home continent.
Due to the fact that Morocco is an accessible portal for migrants coming from Europe back into Africa, many end up staying in Morocco where they’ve found work opportunities and large pockets of Sub-Saharan communities.
The King’s decision to regularize the residency status of all immigrants in Morocco comes immediately following widely publicized allegations of racism and violence against migrants, and closely adheres to the National Human Rights Council’s recommendations for immigration policy reform.
Civil society groups and the sub-Saharan migrant community are anxiously awaiting the mechanisms for implementing the regularization of irregular migrants and offering residency permits to UNHCR recognized refugees."
According to GADEM secretary-general Hicham Rachidi's updates via Facebook, various government ministers seemed to be denying many of the social problems that immigrants have faced in Morocco and claim to have been accompanying ngos and international groups like MSF in helping immigrants have access to health care.
These claims counter the fact that MSF halted its health program for immigrants in Morocco because of the lack of cooperation on the part of the government and the police abuses that were occurring on a regular basis and not being addressed
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