Clash between Sumar and Rufián over immigration discourse: "Order and law belong to the right and the far right"

Sumar has opened a direct clash with Gabriel Rufián over the migratory discourse. The Más Madrid deputy Tesh Sidi reproached the spokesperson for Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) this Tuesday for resorting to the concepts of "order and law", a framework that, as she warned, has belonged for years to "the right and the far right".

The response comes after Rufián accused a part of the alternative left of giving up on a part of the citizenry. The republican leader advocated for a left "of majorities and focused on problems and not on lexicon", after having defended in Congress a migratory policy based on "order, inclusion, rights" and on the recovery of legal entry routes.

Sidi harshly received the choice of those terms. "What is order, what is law and for whom?", she asked during a press conference in Congress. The deputy reminded Rufián that those same ideas were used, in her opinion, to persecute the leaders of the 'procés' after the 2017 independence referendum and for years hindered the recovery of political normality in Catalonia.

"There is order in Spain, there is law in Spain", stressed the Sumar representative, who presented the country as "one of the most punitive in Europe". For Sidi, the discussion must move towards concrete measures on the reception model, visas, the regularization of migrants and compliance with legislation.

The confrontation reveals a growing difference between two forces that usually share votes in Congress. Rufián asks to review the language and priorities of the left to recover citizens who feel neglected, while Sumar fears that accepting the framework of "order" will end up reinforcing the discursive terrain of the far-right Vox and the rest of the extreme right.

"Migrants are not beings of light"

Sidi acknowledged that there is a feeling of fear towards immigration and called for it to be treated with empathy. She also accused the PSOE of having given Vox "the best possible proposal" with its management of the Ceuta crisis, considering that the Government's decisions have fueled a "collective imaginary" subsequently exploited by the far right.

That recognition, she has defended, must be accompanied by political responses that address everyday problems. The deputy has raised whether the public debate should revolve around the "1%" that is presented as a threat or pay attention to the rest of the population and to difficulties such as access to housing, job insecurity, or the lack of public services.

"Security, order, and law can come from guaranteeing the right to housing," she pointed out. Sidi has rejected idealizing those who arrive in Spain, but also turning exceptions into a description of the entire group. "That migrants are not beings of light is something we all know," she affirmed before emphasizing that the "vast majority" seek to contribute and build a dignified life.

The Sumar representative recalled that laws apply equally to anyone within Spanish borders and welcomed the discussion raised by Rufián as long as it is accompanied by proposals. In her previous response on 'X', Sidi had already condensed her position with a phrase addressed to the ERC spokesperson. "Immigration is not a mistake of the left."