Madrid: Police targeting illegal Moroccans
Police in a Madrid neighbourhood have been set targets for arresting illegal immigrants and told to concentrate on Moroccans, according to media reports that have angered migrant groups.
The reports came as Spain's Socialist government tries to drastically cut immigration due to rocketing unemployment, in an about-face on what was the most open immigration policy of any large European country.
"This isn't worthy of a country governed by the rule of law. The police can't issue quotas for arresting Moroccans," Kamal Rahmouni, president of the Association of Moroccan Immigrant Workers, told Reuters.
This would lead to people being harassed because of their physical appearance, he said.
Spain's National Police confirmed the existence of orders setting out objectives for the arrest of foreigners.
"These guidelines are established according to the population and crime rate of each district, in strict compliance with immigration laws obliging the police to sanction illegal immigrants," the police force said in a statement.
(..)
Moroccans were the priority, according to the document which was also quoted by newspapers on Monday, because they can be expelled from Spain cheaply and are accepted by their home government with a minimum of fuss.
Illegal migrants caught in Vallecas are transferred to a migrant detention centre, which is currently under investigation by a public prosecutor following allegations of physical abuse by staff.
(more)
Source: Barcelona Reporter (English)
Police in a Madrid neighbourhood have been set targets for arresting illegal immigrants and told to concentrate on Moroccans, according to media reports that have angered migrant groups.
The reports came as Spain's Socialist government tries to drastically cut immigration due to rocketing unemployment, in an about-face on what was the most open immigration policy of any large European country.
"This isn't worthy of a country governed by the rule of law. The police can't issue quotas for arresting Moroccans," Kamal Rahmouni, president of the Association of Moroccan Immigrant Workers, told Reuters.
This would lead to people being harassed because of their physical appearance, he said.
Spain's National Police confirmed the existence of orders setting out objectives for the arrest of foreigners.
"These guidelines are established according to the population and crime rate of each district, in strict compliance with immigration laws obliging the police to sanction illegal immigrants," the police force said in a statement.
(..)
Moroccans were the priority, according to the document which was also quoted by newspapers on Monday, because they can be expelled from Spain cheaply and are accepted by their home government with a minimum of fuss.
Illegal migrants caught in Vallecas are transferred to a migrant detention centre, which is currently under investigation by a public prosecutor following allegations of physical abuse by staff.
(more)
Source: Barcelona Reporter (English)
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