If you have a criminal record and have applied for legalization, the police will not open a deportation case against you. Or at least that is the order that National Police officers have received—according to police sources. The instruction, which has always been verbal, comes from the Ministry of the Interior and is justified on the grounds of efficiency: to save time on a process that will almost certainly come to nothing if the offender manages to regularize their status.
How does this work? Well, here’s the thing: when the police catch an undocumented foreigner who has committed a crime, the standard procedure is to open a deportation case against them and place them in a CIE until the Government Delegation decides whether to deport them. But if that detainee has already applied for legalization, commanders order the process to be halted. The reason? While the Government Delegation is making its decision, the immigrant may obtain legal status and become immune to deportation.
The same sources cite cases of repeat offenders who use multiple false identities—especially Algerian ones—to avoid deportation. Algeria previously did not recognize its citizens detained in Spain, but now it does so only sparingly. This further delays deportations. Here’s an example: in Girona, it took the Government Subdelegation two years to deport a violent Senegalese man—with a history of theft and threats—who had been causing trouble in Figueras for years. The reason? Bureaucratic obstacles in his home country.
If you’re in the middle of the regularization process and have a criminal record, this affects you. The police might not bother you about deportation while your application is pending. Note: this is not a free pass. If you commit a serious crime, a judge can send you to jail, and regularization won’t save you. Furthermore, the orders are verbal and subject to change. So it’s best to have all your documentation in order and, if you have any doubts, seek legal advice.
The measure aims to relieve overcrowding in the CIE detention centers and avoid unnecessary proceedings, but it leaves officers in limbo. What about you? If you’re in the process of applying for legal status and the police stop you, you can show them your application for regularization. Of course, this doesn’t guarantee you won’t be detained, but it may halt the deportation proceedings.
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