The immigrant: "Spain seemed so plentiful"

Roxana Batista, a 34-year-old economics graduate from the Dominican Republic, has been in Spain since 2006. A widow with two children with a well-paid, secure job in the civil service in her home country, she wanted to further her career and decided that Spain offered her the best hopes. "Spain seemed so plentiful; it stood out among the countries of the European Union. Nobody thought that it would be set back in this way," she says.

Within a week of arriving she had found a job, working for a construction company. She soon lost it. After that she found herself in a downward spiral, having to take jobs she was overqualified for, such as cleaning work or looking after the elderly. Like 32 percent of immigrants, she is now unemployed. Many are considering returning home: some 70 percent of those who signed off the books of the INEM Employment Institute in the first quarter were from abroad. Roxana says that for the moment she is staying put.