NGOs denounce Spain's 'human rights violations' during migrant deportations

Last year Spain deported 21,711 migrants, the highest number of people forced out of the country since 2013, with Barcelona-based NGOs Irídia and Novact denouncing widespread "human rights violations" behind the practice.

According to what these organizations, who complain of the obstacles faced when attempting to obtain and contrast data, have been able to document, the number of people deported via all three mechanisms (refusal of entry, returns, or expulsions) has steadily increased over the past few years. In 2018, Spain carried out some 20,883 deportations, up from the 18,574 in 2017.

Clara Caldero, of Novact, is quick to draw lines between the EU's efforts to reinforce deportations and so-called 'smart borders' as part of its migration policy and the interests of private tech and security firms: "The industries that profit from selling weapons to parts of the world where migration flows originate are the same that then profit from bolstering borders."   

Spanish immigration law and detention centers

Since 1985, when Spain approved its first immigration law ahead of its entry into the European Community, foreigners lacking legal residency status can be deported back to their countries of origin.

Some of these people are sent away after spending up to 60 days in migrant detention centers, known as 'CIEs' for their acronym in Spanish. And although not all detainees will end up being forced out of the country, the thousands of men and women who pass through their doors every year routinely decry their conditions, from lacking translation and interpretation services or poor legal assistance to insufficient medical care.

Concerns surrounding reopening CIEs

And while these centers were closed during the height of the pandemic due to health concerns and closed borders, as of Tuesday there are already around 80 people detained at Barcelona's CIE tucked away in the city's industrial Zona Franca district.

Human rights organizations worry this development could put detainees' health at risk – indeed, although the CIE has capacity for 220 migrants, Andrés García Berrio of Irídia cast doubt on the center's ability to guarantee social distancing among people.

Groups like Irídia and Novact, who have long called for the closure of all of Spain's CIEs for what they describe as racist and classist practices, are also yet to be informed whether they will be allowed to visit detained migrants as they have done in the past to monitor conditions behind closed doors as well as to provide legal and emotional support, and it is not clear if those with friends and family nearby will be able to see them either.