Many young came for seasonal or short-term work in agriculture and industry, coming and going from Spain without settling there.

A new visa law implemented that year, La Ley de Extranjeria, was quite restrictive, and did not provide for permanent residence permits.

[12] In 1989, the Asociación de Trabajadores Inmigrantes Marroquíes en España was formed by a group of Moroccan workers to defend their working rights.

[8] Beginning in September that year, Spanish authorities offered payments to unemployed immigrants if they agreed to cancel their residency and leave the country.

[16] However, according to provisional figures, the Moroccan population of Spain continued to grow during the year, and had reached 858,000 by the beginning of 2011, 8.8% higher than the 2008 total.