Questioning the necessity of pre-removal detention: the Case of Spain

Abstract

Detention has increasingly been used as the main strategy across Europe to prevent foreign citizens from absconding while pending for deportation. Yet, this is a highly contested measure as it often implies breaching several human and migrant rights. In Spain, civil society has a long tradition of advocating for the closure of all pre-removal detention centres for foreigners, known locally as CIEs -the Centro de Internamiento de Extranjeros-. But is this a realistic possibility within Spain's current politico-legal framework? Grounded the data gathered and analysis of the first two research stages of MORE, in this blog post, we argue that abolishing pre-removal detention is a viable option.