Migration police: Historical Reflections Based on Spanish Case

Spain, a country that was characterized during the 19th century and a little over half of the 20th century as expelling part of its population, has, in recent decades, seen itself transformed into a country that receives immigrants, many of them Latin Americans and, among them, a numerous group of descendants of Spaniards, many of whom, therefore, have Spanish nationality. The two movements, both the one that involves those who emigrated and the one that focuses on the people who have arrived in Spain, have been studied profusely. In particular, the movements of the Spanish population within the European borders2 and the movements toward America focused the attention of researchers, especially since 1992 in this last case, because of the commemoration of the Spaniards’ arrival to this continent.This article was written within the framework of the research project HAR2015-63689-R, financed by the National I+D+i Plan of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity