There have been a number of judicial decisions in Spain in recent weeks that could have crucial impacts on how migrants and asylum seekers are treated, in particular with respect to Covid-related border controls. In one case from November, Spain’s Constitutional Court found that a provision in the country’s controversial Citizen Security Law allowing push […]
European Union
Spain: Covid-19 and Detention
In October, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued a ruling on a deportation case in Spain that would limit the country’s ability to enforce removal decisions in certain cases based on provisions of the EU Return Directive. The court in Spain’s Castilla-La Mancha region had asked the CJEU whether authorities could […]
Cyprus: Covid-19 and Detention
Since the onset of the pandemic, Cyprus has engaged in multiple offshore pushbacks, preventing boats carrying hundreds of refugees from disembarking on the island. These incidents appear to have increased in frequency since August, as growing numbers of boats have attempted the journey from Lebanon. Although it is not known how many boats have departed […]
Hungary: Covid-19 and Detention
In October, the European Commission opened asylum-related infringement procedures against Hungary. According to ECRE, this is the fifth time such a procedure has been opened against the country since 2015. In a letter of formal notice, the commission says that new asylum procedures that were introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic are in breach […]
France: Covid-19 and Detention
Shortly after the onset of the pandemic, France temporarily closed several immigration detention centres (centres de rétention administrative or CRA) (see 16 July and 12 May France updates on this platform). However, the Conseil d’Etat rejected a request to completely shutter CRA’s on 27 March 2020 (see 6 April France update on this platform). Some […]
Spain: Covid-19 and Detention
While migrant arrivals to Mainland Spain have decreased this year, the number of migrants and asylum seekers arriving in the Canary Islands has significantly increased. According to UNHCR, as of 18 October 24,259 arrivals had been registered in Spain, of whom 9,199 were registered in the Canary Islands. (In all of 2019, 2,698 migrants arrived […]
Italy: Covid-19 and Detention
Migrants and asylum seekers who test positive for COVID-19 are routinely being confined in “inadequate conditions” on quarantine ships stationed off the country’s coast. According to ARCI (Associazione Ricreativa Culturale Italiana), five quarantine ships are currently in operation; however, the total number of people quarantined on these vessels has not been released. Following a visit […]
Greece: Covid-19 and Detention
Amidst a surge in cases across the country, several migrants and asylum seekers held in Chios’ Reception and Identification Centre (RIC) are reported to have tested positive for COVID-19. (The exact number remains unclear: while Greek media referred to two positive cases confirmed in Chios hospital, InfoMigrants cited reports of “at least 30” confirmed cases.) […]
Netherlands: Covid-19 and Detention
Unlike many of its EU neighbours, the Netherlands largely avoided implementing strict measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. But in the past month, the country has seen a surge in new cases, leaving the Netherlands with one of the highest infection rates in the world (160 […]
Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 862/2007
For over a decade, the GDP has relentlessly pushed states to provide better migration detention data, in particular in the European Union, where Eurostat maintains a wealth of statistics on a range of key immigration enforcement measures—except detention. Until now. In June, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted proposed reforms to […]
