In International Migrants Day, the acting Ombudsman, Francisco Fernández Marugán, has reiterated his compromise for the migrants and has presented a document with the most important actions of the institution regarding this matter throughout 2020. This year, there have been six issues that have caused the biggest number of interventions by the Ombudsman.
Problems with documentation processing
The biggest number of complaints sent by foreign population established in Spain made referred to problems with the processing of their documentation. In the beginning, they were referring to the inability when making an appointment at the police because of procedures related to international protection requests. Nevertheless, to these complaints, there have been added hundreds of legal residents have who were already claiming the impossibility of accessing through an appointment at the police stations of their respective areas of residence. There are currently proceedings in 22 provinces in total.
After the state of alarm was declared, personal attention was restricted and the delay in the proceedings of the documentation of these peoples. Many citizens went to the Ombudsman to exhibit the obstacles that resulted because of their foreigner identification card has expired.
Fernández Marugán formulated a recommendation to the General Direction of Migrations, which has been accepted. It consists of the adoption of measures that contribute to diminish the problem that has been originated because of the lack of material and personal resources of the National Police to face this situation.
Under the Ombudsman’s views, given that there are almost 6 million legal residents in Spain nowadays, the Domestic Ministry should urgently revise the personal and material tools designed for the proceeding of the documentation of foreigners.
Irregular arrivals
According to data provided by the Domestic Ministry, almost 40.000 people have arrived in Spain irregularly during this year. Fernández Marugán insists on the “expulsion effect” we are facing. “What is lived in their countries of origin is pushing thousands of people to risk their lives when embarking on the sea.
The Ombudsman reminds that irregular arrivals to the Spanish coasts have been happening invariably for more than thirty years. “With this sanitary crisis, structural scarcities have become even more evident, they are perpetrated with the event of time, and should be corrected”.
Under his criterion, as he has pointed out in other occasions, “The dispersion of competences in areas of handling immigration amongst different ministerial departments, the State, autonomous communities and town councils is an element that partly explains the shortages of coordination which have been once again appreciable”.
To know the health measures that were being adopted in possible cases of COVID-19, ex officio actions were launched at the end of July, before the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations, as well as with the five autonomous communities (Andalucía, Baleares, Canarias, Murcia, and Comunitat Valenciana) that have received foreigners during the last years.
On another side, given the upturn of arrivals in the Canary Islands, Technicians of the Institution inspected more than twenty centres and installations related to the irregular arrival of migrants in Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma, and El Hierro during the last two weeks of November. The conclusions and resolutions of those visits will be brought together in a monographic document.
Once again, the Defensor has to denounce the situation where the peoples that cannot be returned to their countries of origin are immediately are found for different reasons. Fernández Marugán finds it indispensable that they are given a written acknowledgement of the temporal unavailability of any possibility to carry out a return decision that might avoid constant transfer to police stations, and which allow rational and efficient management of humanitarian aid resources. The institution already formulated a recommendation in this tense in 2018.
Also in 2020, the Ombudsman needed to attract attention concerning the situation of the CETI at Melilla and has recommended the Domestic Minister to urgently bring the most vulnerable people to the Iberian Peninsula. Even though some displacements were carried out, they were not enough to solve the situation under the eyes of the institution.
Reform of Immigration Law
In 2020, some recommendations have been formulated to the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migrations for the reform of the Immigration Law, which have been accepted.
The Ombudsman considers that the modification of some preceptions of the Immigration Law could contribute to the improvement of the legal regime that regulates the conditions of labour, residence, and familiar reunification.
The questions that are mostly repeated across the complaints are two. The first refers to the restrictive interpretation of the rule that the different foreigners’ office makes, with significant variations between them. The second elaborates on the ruling development of some articles of the law of the foreigner complicating the incorporation of two groups to the global market: underage foreigners who are in legal age to work, as well as reunified family members.
Ways to help supervening irregularity
Most of the complaints received during 2020 about the supervening irregularity refer to foreigners who, after having spent years as asylum seekers, have their requests denied and fall under the category of documentation irregularity, even though in many occassions they have accomplished full social and labour market integration.
After more than five years of alerting on this situation, finally, in 2020 the Administration has accepted the Recommendation formulated by the Ombudsman, through admitting the compatibility between international protection proceedings and demands of residence based on roots.
Fernández Marugán recognises the effort of the Secretary of the State of Migrations which, with the instructions dictated throughout the last months, has wanted to intermediate in face of the consequences that the subsequent crisis of the sanitary alert is already having on the foreign population living in Spain.
Social and labour integration of unaccompanied minor foreigners
In March, via an instruction of the General Direction of Migrations, after being denounced several times by the Ombudsman, the practice of not authorising underage non-accompanied foreigners over the age of 16 to work was corrected.
Weeks after its publication, the alarm state was enacted. The Ombudsman then proposed the incorporation of the labour market (in caring, agricultural and sanitary sectors) to foreign citizens, residing legally in Spain, who were not authorised to work. He was specifically alluding to the asylum seekers with a stance in Spain that did not exceed six months, as well as to the previously protected Young people with no lucrative residence in vigor. The proposal was partially accepted, so that Young foreigners from age 18 to 22, if the authorisation of non-lucrative residence was in force, were allowed to be employed in the agricultural sector.
Once the validity of this measure was accomplished, one instruction by the General Direction of Migrations established the requisites for the authorisation of residence and two-labour years, which were renewable for another two. The Ombudsman celebrates this measure which, together with the acceptance of the recommendation for the modification of the legal regime of the residence authorisations for non-accompanied underage foreigners, will contribute to the necessary improvement of the social and labour integration of this group.
Schooling of minors in Melilla
During 2020, actions (both advertences and suggestions) to achieve the schooling of minors born in Melilla. Even though they did almost practically, they still deal with the consequences of being children of mothers in irregular situations that find themselves in the city for years -even decades-, but who live in a situación of total administrative invisibility and social exclusion.
This year will come to an end without having schooled the majority of them. This situation worries the Ombudsman especially, who finds it necessary to carry on finding solutions to guarantee the fundamental right for education for these children.
