Where regularization is more difficult: "The detainees in the CIEs are condemned to be expelled"

BarcelonaThe extraordinary regularization of migrants that in recent days has left Although specialists criticize the lack of transparency regarding how many people are interned, in 2024 a total of 1,863 people passed through these detention centres, according to the latest report from the Jesuit Migrant Service. Among them were 85 women and 853 applicants for international protection, and almost half were not repatriated, according to the entity. The same entity denounced in the report the lack of public information to periodically know data on internment.

On paper, the regularization decree does not exclude CIE inmates, although it does not expressly mention them either. For this reason, legal experts consulted agree that the situation of each migrant should be studied on a case-by-case basis to decide whether or not they meet the requirements to regularize their situation. In any case, the sources consulted predict that the inmates who will be able to benefit from regularization will be a minority.

"This regularization is not intended for CIE inmates," warns the lawyer specializing in immigration and human rights José Javier Ordóñez Echeverría. Contrary to some accusations from the far-right, which have branded the regularization as "a

coladero

" or "coffee for everyone," Ordóñez considers that "people in CIE are somewhat condemned to be expelled and, if not, when they return to the street, they should be included in the normal arraignment regime, not this extraordinary one".

This is where the doctor of law from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) and research coordinator of the Institute of Human Rights of Catalonia, Karlos Castilla, coincides. However, he believes that there may be some interns who do meet the requirements.

To begin with, there is a practical difficulty even for those who meet all the requirements. "If people who are free and have access to their documentation already find it very difficult to complete the procedures, imagine not being able to do anything more than make a call," assesses Castilla. The lawyer specializing in immigration law, Maria Elena Bedoya, agrees, ruling out that detainees have permits to carry out the procedures, and wonders if they could do them through their lawyer.

The professor of constitutional law at the University of Barcelona (UB) Markus González, specializing in immigration, adds, however, that through the legal orientation services of the CIEs and the entities that work there, each case can be reviewed and the necessary support provided. He believes that the best approach would be to identify those detainees who want and can apply for regularization to help them obtain documentation and submit the application. "No one can be denied the right to try to regularize their status, not even detainees. They are deprived of liberty, not of rights," he concludes.

All detainees at the CIE have a reference lawyer, regardless of the regularization process that is now underway. Many times it is a lawyer from the immigration duty roster. Lawyer Quim Clavaguera, head of the immigration commission of the Barcelona Bar Association (ICAB), explains that those who wish to submit the application have the assistance of the association and the entities working at the CIE.

Like other jurists consulted, Clavaguera warns that "the vast majority of CIE detainees probably will not meet the requirements" of the extraordinary regularization. For these detainees, regularizing their situation would mean ending the expulsion procedure. Furthermore, Clavaguera points out that the regularization request can be used to ask the justice system for a provisional suspension of return to the country of origin, and recommends seeking legal advice to know all the options and avoid deception.

A regularization not designed for the CIE

Beyond the practical difficulties, the requests of the detainees must meet certain requirements that, in many cases, the very fact of being in the CIE implies that they probably do not meet them. "The causes that are supposed to lead you to a CIE, even if they are administrative rather than criminal offenses, are the same ones that leave you outside of regularization," summarizes Castilla.

The requirements set by the regularization decree are to be in Spain since before January 1st and to have been there for at least five consecutive months. It is also essential not to have a criminal record and "not to pose a threat to public order, public safety, or public health." This last factor will be verified with a police report.

The criminal record

Although they are not the majority, some detainees end up in CIE after a conviction. In their case, they will be excluded from regularization due to having a record.

On the other hand, police records are more frequent among CIE detainees. "Many people in CIE do not have criminal records, but they do have police records, simply because the expulsion procedure itself is already a police record," says Ordóñez. "A police officer has flagged you, or you have had a complaint for infringing immigration law and you have been taken to the police station to check your situation," says Ordóñez as examples. "Perhaps you have been stopped in the street, or you have been arrested, but in the end you have not been convicted of anything," he continues.

These situations do not constitute a crime or a criminal record, but they do constitute a police record, which can be key in the report that will now be taken into account when evaluating regularization requests. It would also affect street vendors or can collectors who have been sanctioned.

However, the police report by itself is not enough to dismiss a regularization request and the other requirements must be checked. "The report is not an automatic cause, but it will be necessary to see if it meets the other requirements," says UB professor Markus González. It will be taken into account, among others, whether the applicant has a work contract, whether they have family in the State, whether they have a vulnerability report, or whether they have minors in their care.

Nevertheless, Ordóñez believes that regularization will be achieved in very few cases if there is a negative report. "He should have an excellent record to offset the police background and having been in the CIE," he admits.