Spain has had one of the most liberal attitudes to immigration in Europe, perhaps because Spaniards remember that until recently poverty forced them to seek work abroad too. Last year, it chose to recognise reality by granting an amnesty to illegal immigrants, giving them temporary-work permits instead of pretending they didn't exist, and thus bringing them into the formal economy where legal rights are respected. But the move was widely criticised by Spain's European partners, who prefer a more hardline approach of expelling the illegal immigrants they actually manage to catch. Now it seems that Spain is falling into line with the European mainstream.

That is a pity. Spain's dynamic economy has outpaced the rest of Europe's for many years now. The influx of immigrants has helped to prolong this long boom, which has coincided with a fall in unemployment for native Spaniards. Africans want to work and Spain has work to be done: it ought to be a perfect match.

Trying to prevent the global labour market matching workers to jobs is not only bad for Spain's economy. It is also unlikely to succeed: the rewards from crossing borders to work are such that the migrants will keep coming. Worse, the harder Spain cracks down on illegal migration, the more it will drive people underground, fostering criminality and undermining the rule of law.

There is surely a better way, as I discuss in greater detail in my new book.

In the mean time, spare a thought for the poor Africans who are to be deported solely for the crime of aspiring to work hard and better themselves. It is what some would call the American Dream, and which ought to be Europe's apiration too.

If we are so proud of our European way of life, why are we so desperate to prevent others sharing it?