After a very long negotiation of one year and two months, the PSOE and Junts have closed the pact assumes that the state delegates in the Generalitat the control of border for the return of immigrants, the most delicate issue, in addition to the residence permits and the control of the foreigners’ internment centers. According to the text of the proposal of the law that have signed the two groups and has been registered today in Congress, “the powers of border control related to the execution of the regulations of the State in matters of return of foreign persons in the territory of their autonomous community” are delegated to the Autonomous Community of Catalonia ”and, therefore, the Mossos d’Esquadra, the Autonomous Police,“ as a integral police for the access of foreign persons in ports and airports, in collaboration with the rest of the security forces and bodies ”and according to the criteria established in a Security Board, chaired by the Generalitat. The Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations, Elma Sáiz, has defended that the agreement is legal. “It applies with the Spanish Constitution in hand,” he said. Junts, meanwhile, has applauded the agreement when considering that it is a “integral” delegation of immigration management.
Consequently, the Mossos will not be alone in the control of border for the return of immigrants, as Junts asked, but neither the State, through the Police and the Civil Guard, will lead this task, as interior, very reticant to yield any part of the border control to the Generalitat. The agreement goes beyond the red lines that Fernando Grande-Marslaska, Minister of the Interior, and Pedro Sánchez himself, who a year ago, asked about this matter, already controversial, said in an interview in the country:.
In the end, from the symbolic point of view, although it does not have much practical effect, it is important to know which body will receive foreigners when arriving at the Barcelona airport, for example. And both the drafting of the proposition of the law and the government itself suggest that it will be a Mosso who will be in that first Garita, although always in coordination with the Police and the Civil Guard. “That the Mossos and Police collaborate and coordinate is a sign that the State works. The Mossos will act in coordination with the State Security Forces and Bodies, ”insisted the Minister of Inclusion, Elma Sáiz. Marlaska did not appear after the Council of Ministers to explain this agreement, with a lot of resistance inside, and did not even go to the appointment alleging a flu, but Sáiz said that this pact has the support “of all ministries.”
On expulsions, a very sensitive issue, the proposition of the law is clear: “Regarding the rest of the sanctioning procedures in the field of foreigners that may fall an expulsion sanction, it is delegated to the Autonomous Community of Catalonia the execution of the regulations of the State in matters of initiation, instruction and proposal for the resolution of said sanctioning procedures for actions carried out by natural persons residing in the scope of the autonomous community of Catalunya”. That is, the Generalitat will direct the expulsions that do not require file, the most uncommon. The others, which are the vast majority, will be resolved and executed from the proposal of expulsion formulated by the Autonomous Administration (something that until now did the State) after assessing the orientative criteria established by the Security Board of Catalonia, chaired by the Generalitat. The most sensitive issue, the expulsion, is thus very delimited and the Generalitat will only direct the return of people who do not have permission to enter Spain, something very unusual in Catalonia, not in the Canary Islands.
The Government argues that this agreement is fully constitutional, because although article 149 states that immigration and border control are exclusive powers of the State, 150.2 allows to delegate them, that they do not transfer them, that is that they could be recovered in case of conflict, although in Spain it has never passed and all delegated competence has definitely remained in the hands of the autonomies. The Minister of Inclusion, Elma Sáiz, said that the Government “does not yield border control” although then, commenting on the drafting of article 9 in which there is talk of the delegation of the border control for the return of immigrants, it does admit: “The Generalitat may expel people who are prohibited from entering our country, who do not need a file. When a file is necessary [los casos más frecuentes] The Generalitat may propose. ” Sáiz also claimed that the Government does not assume Juns speech, very hard with immigration, and argues that “the exposition of reasons includes the principles and values defended by the Government of Spain. A policy that puts human rights in the center because we consider it. We are a country with memory and we were an emigrant country, ”he finished. Meanwhile, Junts claims that he has practically achieved almost everything he claimed.
With this agreement, the government is not guaranteed, which are still very complicated because there are several groups that do not seem very willing to approve those of this year or put very difficult conditions for the government – Cer, we can – but the Executive does trust to have at least one stage of certain stability. The Government has just closed an agreement on ERC on the Autonomic Liquidity Fund (Fla), which extends to all other autonomies, and now signs this with together on immigration a week later, thus achieving a certain calm to negotiate other laws and think of a long investiture up to 2027 with or without budgets.
However, the agreement will also be controversial and it is very likely that a legal battle in which the PP resorts to the Constitutional Court is now opened. The Government insists that the Agreement respects at all times the Constitution, which through article 150.2 gives a lot of margin to delegate, to not transfer, several powers that in principle were state such as this. The agreement will also be controversial in progressive sectors, because in which it sometimes competes with a rival that has arisen to the right of independence, Aliança Catalan. The Government argues that who is going to manage these powers is now a socialist Catalan executive, that of Salvador Illa, without the presence of independentists, but the concern of some sectors goes through what can come in the future if Junts returns to the Generalitat and especially for encouraging this extreme speech.
According to the joint statement of socialists and independence, Catalonia will be configured as a “single window” in their territory; and will also issue the identity document for foreigners, from the NIE Registry. The Generalitat will also manage foreigners returns (when they have a prohibition of entry).
Both forces have agreed to increase the number of Mossos d’Esquadra in Catalonia in 1,800 troops, until reaching the total figure of 26,800 agents. The community will exercise the sanctioning competence of administrative procedures (including resolution and execution). In this way, it will instruct and execute expulsions that do not require file (return). The expulsions that require file will be resolved and executed from the expulsion proposal made by the Generalitat, after assessing the orientative criteria established by the Security Board of Catalonia.
Another point that includes the agreement between the PSOE and Junts is that Catalonia will integrately manage those in hiring at origin, Catalonia will be the administration that will determine (together with its companies and unions) the profiles and the contingent of foreign workers and workers. In linguistic matters, “the provisions of current legislation will be applied to the exercise of delegated powers.” The Pact specifies that it will be the Mossos who will exercise the competence for the prevention, persecution, protection and assistance of victims of trafficking and exploitation of human beings.
And it is specified that the State will transfer the necessary human, technical and economic resources for Catalonia to exercise the competence that is delegated to it. “In short, with this Organic Law of Delegation of Competencies in Immigration Catalonia may develop an own model, a comprehensive policy, given that in all phases of the relationship of immigrants with the administration, the Catalan institutions will have a determining position in the framework of the European international legislation and the Spanish State,” the agreement closes.
