Spain plans to bypass standard migration procedures and introduce stricter asylum rules for migrants who arrived in its North African enclave of Ceuta during July’s mass border crossing, according to a draft decree seen by Reuters.
The proposed measures have drawn criticism from legal experts and non-governmental organizations, Reuters reported.
The decree, aimed at speeding up asylum applications and deportations for more than 10,000 migrants who remain in the small territory, would represent a major shift for Spain’s left-wing, pro-immigration government as it faces political pressure over the border crisis.
More than 70,000 people illegally crossed the border from Morocco into Ceuta by land and sea in late July in an unprecedented surge that alarmed European leaders and highlighted the limits of a recent overhaul of migration rules designed to tighten border controls.
Under the draft measures, which were first reported by Spanish newspaper El Pais and have not yet been confirmed, migrants whose asylum applications are rejected would have to appeal from outside Spain if the EU considers their country of origin safe. Morocco is included in that category, regardless of the individual circumstances of the applicant.
The decree would apply retroactively to migrants who arrived during the mass crossing on July 30 and 31. It would also allow the government to bypass the standard review of asylum applications by a commission that includes representatives of the UN refugee agency.
Applications would be withdrawn if migrants could not be contacted for five days. Anyone deemed to have acted in a “violent or threatening” manner would immediately lose the right to remain.
Asked at a news conference about plans to reduce the time required to process migrants, Territorial Policy Minister Angel Victor Torres said the government was “analysing the possibility” of a legislative amendment, but acknowledged that it was “not easy” because of international law considerations.
Spanish lawyers and NGOs criticized the proposed measures in comments to Reuters and other media. Thirteen organizations, including Spain’s Commission for Assistance to Refugees (CEAR) and Oxfam, described the draft as a “grave threat” to Spain’s commitments under international human rights conventions.