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Date Published: 20/10/2021

ARCHIVED - Criticism over how irregular immigration is handled in Murcia

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

Migrants in Cartagena and Murcia are held for 72 hours after which they are offered a place in a reception programme

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Criticism over how irregular immigration is handled in Murcia

After an alarming number of immigrants reached the Costa Cálida this weekend, there has been criticism from both the public and some political parties about what happens to the irregular immigrants after they are rescued.

In total, 433 migrants have arrived in the Region of Murcia since Saturday October 16, including 30 women and 42 minors; the remaining 361 irregular migrants were men. All of the arrivals were taken to the Escombreras dock in Cartagena, where the Red Cross association (Cruz Roja) carries out routine PCR tests and health checks, and held for 72 hours.

What happens to irregular immigrants after the 72-hour detention period?

Although immigrants who arrive in Spain illegally are detained for the first 72 hours, they have committed no crime other than being undocumented and are therefore released after three days. The migrants are then offered the chance to be taken in by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) as part of the reception programmes organised by the Ministry of Migration.

However, the immigrants are not obliged to join any of these programmes and the government doesn’t know how many people actually choose to accept help, with many of the migrants stating their intention to continue on towards France.

As for the migrants who test positive for Covid-19, they are taken to a hospital and their fellow passengers are put into quarantine.

According to representatives from the migration department in Murcia, the administrative process to return the immigrants to their home country continues regardless of whether they decide to join an NGO or not, adding that after the 72-hour detention period, “they cannot be held against their will”.

Recent Criticism

In Cartagena, the immigrants are transported by bus from the port to a NGO, but although they are offered a place in one of the reception programme, many don’t, which has led to complaints that they are allowed to “roam freely” around Cartagena and Murcia.

A Murcian member of the far-right political party Vox recently attacked the irregular immigration process in the Region, making a rather harsh claim that the migrants “fill our neighbourhoods with crime and uneasiness”.

Image: @LuisGestoso on Twitter

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