CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

As highlighted in the examples above, the fate of migrants arriving in Spain frequently depends on their point of entry. Spanish authorities responsible for implementing Law 8/2000 and its regulation appear to interpret and apply the law in the way that they feel makes the most sense for their particular locality, without regard for requirements of consistent, predictable, and non-arbitrary implementation of the law. Serious violations of migrants' rights result.

For example, the authorities in Ceuta address the migrant problem by quickly processing migrants' expulsion documents so that they can be transferred to mainland Spain. The Melilla authorities address the problem by sending some groups of migrants to the peninsula with valid work and residence permits, sending others to the peninsula where they are held in internment centers prior to expulsion, and repatriating to Morocco by devolución those classified as Moroccan. Authorities in the Canary Islands address their local migration problem by detaining all undocumented migrants arriving to its shores by patera, expelling those they can and releasing the others onto the streets of Las Palmas after their detention period has lapsed.

Research also indicated that fundamental procedural rights guaranteed to migrants under the law, such as the right to counsel or to appeal an order for deportation, are in many cases only given symbolic effect. Moreover, migrants are largely ill-informed about their rights under the law and have limited access to meaningful legal or interpretation services.

Arbitrary decision-making and the tendency to deny migrants their basic procedural rights are exacerbated by the excessively broad powers some authorities possess. The discretion exercised by the Spanish National Police and the government delegates in Ceuta and Melilla, in particular, yields disparities in implementation of Law 8/2000, consequently raising serious concerns about Spain's compliance with domestic, regional, and international law prohibiting arbitrary and discriminatory treatment and requiring individualized case determinations.

Despite awareness of these concerns, there has been no indication from the responsible government ministries in Madrid that serious efforts are being made to centralize interpretation and application of Law 8/2000. Human Rights Watch calls on the Spanish government to: