A YOUNG Spaniard has sparked backlash online after claiming immigrants are ‘failing to adapt’ to local culture.
San Adrian de Besos, from Barcelona, made the comments during an interview on the Vamos A Ver news programme on Telecinco.
Reporters were speaking to locals who had taken to the streets to protest against migrant squatters, who they say have taken over multiple empty homes.
They said they are now ‘living in fear’ and feel ‘unsafe’ in their own neighbourhoods.
San Adrian said: “I don’t know if I can say this, but they’re bringing cultures that do not align with our towns.”
He accused migrants of ‘completely changing’ the ‘traditional’ makeup of neighbourhoods, adding that ‘the results were clear… more rapes and crime’.
The comments come despite a report by right-leaning newspaper El Mundo last year, which suggested there was no direct link between a rise in immigration and crime rates.
The young man’s comments led to some users on X to brand him a fascist.
One wrote: “Tremendous Nazi-fascist. He should stop looking so much at what happens in his neighborhood and start listening more to Silvia Intxaurrondo, so that he learns what these people really come for, which is nothing other than to make our society shine.”
Another said: “A young man who has no f****ng idea what he’s talking about and repeats what you promote on social media day in and day out.”
One added: “When his grandparents arrived, they changed the whole of Barcelona and its surroundings. Now they cry because those who come are not like them, just like their parents.”
However many supported the teen’s remarks, with one user writing: “He speaks much clearer and better than most politicians”, while another claimed ‘multiculturalism is a fraud.’
It comes after Elon Musk last month expressed his shock over a report that claimed 91% of imprisoned rapists in the region of Cataluña are foreign nationals.
The X owner retweeted a news report from right-leaning paper La Razon, writing simply: “Wow.”
The report stated that 26 out of 29 current inmates convicted or charged of rape in the north-eastern region – which is home to Barcelona – are non-Spaniards.
According to respected newspaper La Vanguardia, as of January 1, 2025, the figures were correct and come from the Department of Jusitce.
It explained that across Cataluña, there were 29 inmates in prison for rape crimes.
Of these, 22 had been convicted while another seven were being held on rape charges. Of these 29, some 26 were of a foreign nationaliy.
However, when the pool was widened to include all sexual assault crimes, the figures change slightly.
Across Cataluña, as of January 1, there were 301 inmates jailed for sexual assault crimes.
Of these, 186 are foreign nationals, representing 61.79% of the total, while 115 are Spanish, accounting for 38.2%.
Click here to read more Spain News from The Olive Press.
I’ve listened to it 4 times and I dont see where he says RAPE. This quote in story is inaccurate and should be corrected.
“He accused migrants of ‘completely changing’ the ‘traditional’ makeup of neighbourhoods, adding that ‘the results were clear… more rapes and crime’.”