Last December 30th, hundreds of people demonstrated in Madrid against Immigration Detention Centers, marching through the Carabanchel neighborhood to the Aluche CIE. Our anarchist platform, Liza, joined the organization of this mobilization for the second time. Each year, this demonstration denounces the racist and repressive nature of these prisons for migrants, where people who have committed no crime are incarcerated.
During the march, slogans were chanted against deportations, the Immigration Law, and the criminal immigration policies of the Spanish State and Europe. Neighbors, anti-racist groups, and solidarity organizations joined the demonstration, bringing to light a silenced reality. Upon arriving at the CIE, messages of support were shared with the detainees, reminding them that they are not alone. The protest reaffirmed the demand for the immediate closure of the CIEs (Immigration Detention Centers) and the abolition of a system that violates fundamental rights.
Migrants are imprisoned in these centers exclusively for foreigners simply for being undocumented, fleeing poverty and destitution, as well as wars and conflicts instigated by neocolonial countries. Therefore, a class-based root, with capitalist exploitation as the central backdrop, cannot be separated from this situation of vulnerability and persecution of migrants.
The construction and maintenance of the CIEs is a response to a racist immigration policy. The CIE is a macabre instrument for controlling migration flows and ensuring labor without rights for the benefit of big capital. Furthermore, it is denounced that companies like Eulen, which focuses on managing immigration detention centers, profit from the immigration control industry. But also Air Europa and Air Nostrum, which handle deportation flights, and El Corte Inglés, which sells computers, air conditioners, mattresses, furniture, and other products destined for these centers, and the Immigration offices.
The progressive government, made up of the PSOE and SUMAR parties, was also denounced for using public funds to build two detention centers in Mauritania and for maintaining immigration detention centers (CIEs) throughout Spain. This is a reactionary and racist migration policy similar to that implemented by the far right in Italy. Fascist organizations and their "Spaniards first" message were identified as the driving force behind racist behaviors and policies.
European migration policies, based on institutional racism and the capitalist logic of control, do not seek to protect borders, but rather to maintain a colonial order based on inequality. The violence perpetrated against migrants is part of a system that needs precarious, irregular, and disposable bodies to sustain its economy and continue increasing profit margins.
For all these reasons, this demonstration is held every year at the end of December, to stand with the detained migrants and, each time, to encourage more organizations and unions to raise their voices against these centers of repression and torture, which are specifically racist in nature. It is necessary to build a broad, anti-racist, and class-based common front, since migration is one of the issues most frequently used by the far right as a political and media weapon. Behind migration lie material and profoundly racist forms of violence that must be combated.
The stronger the political and social organization around these struggles, the better prepared we will be to confront the international anti-immigration offensive that is already brewing and will be further intensified by the agenda set by the European and Spanish far right. Going on the offensive means creating our own program and agenda against racism and colonialism, one that not only serves as self-defense but also as collective self-organization to fight directly against the capitalism that sustains this racist system.
Below is one of the texts produced by the Platform Against Immigration Detention Centers:
Racism in Our Neighborhoods
In our neighborhoods, institutional racism continues to criminalize and perpetrate violence against migrant communities. Lavapiés-and many other neighborhoods in Madrid-is the daily scene of large-scale raids and checks based on racial profiling, practices that remain possible under the Gag Law and that disproportionately impact migrants and people of color, as denounced by anti-racist groups, the Platform Against Immigration Detention Centers, migrant and non-migrant collectives and organizations, racialized and non-racialized groups, neighborhood associations, squatted and self-managed social centers, and unions.
Likewise, the intimidating police presence criminalizes, through raids, workers who are simply waiting for a job opportunity in places like Plaza Elíptica, or metro and commuter rail stations used by migrant workers to get to their jobs. According to data from various human rights organizations and groups, many people of color have been rejected when trying to rent housing, even with a contract and proof of income. Furthermore, many were not allowed to register their address. They have also suffered discrimination in job interviews, usually related to their accent, skin color, or name.
Real Estate Racism
In our neighborhoods, we see evidence of real estate racism. Structural and institutional racism is largely responsible for the real estate discrimination faced by migrants and people of color when trying to access decent housing. This racism not only limits our access to housing, but also forces us out of our neighborhoods, increases criminalization and police violence against migrants, and complicates the regularization of our immigration status. We are required to have been registered as residents for at least three years to apply for documentation, while landlords have normalized the practice of refusing to register us, according to the Madrid Tenants' Union. Rent-seeking in our neighborhoods is racism and must be fought with firmness, organization, and solidarity.
Hate Crimes
On the other hand, there are hate crimes. Hate crimes in Spain have recently increased steadily, as have those committed by members of the National Police, Municipal Police, Civil Guard, and Municipal Police. In our neighborhoods, on our streets, at Metro exits, bus stops, and in various other locations, we have witnessed police conduct racial profiling. In some cases, these identifications have been accompanied by racist insults, mockery, and verbal abuse.
Job Insecurity
Furthermore, job insecurity often stems from stereotypes and prejudices. Migrant populations face difficulties in having their qualifications recognized and are primarily hired to care for the elderly, perform cleaning and gardening work, and work in construction. In most cases, these are precarious contracts that disregard labor rights. Migrant women are hired almost exclusively as domestic workers. This precariousness arises mainly from the lack of access to legal immigration status. We demand the immediate approval of a Regularization Law.
Racism Goes Hand in Hand with Fascism
In our neighborhoods, racist actions incite hatred, contribute to misinformation, and stigmatize migrants, people of color, and Roma people. The spread of hoaxes and racist messages against migrant and racialized populations has direct effects: hostile demonstrations outside juvenile detention centers, stigmatization of neighborhoods, and an increase in verbal and physical attacks. In this sense, racism goes hand in hand with fascism. We demand respect for the dignity and physical integrity of all people, regardless of their ethnic origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, or other circumstances. It is an institutional and political responsibility to address these practices that are happening daily in our streets.
Liza Madrid
https://regeneracionlibertaria.org/2026/01/18/los-centros-de-internamiento-de-extranjeros-y-el-racismo-en-nuestros-barrios/
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Link: (en) Spain, Regeneracion - Immigration Detention Centers and Racism in Our Neighborhoods By LIZA (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]
Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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