Barcelona immigration enforcement intensified significantly in 2025. The city closed the year with nearly 1,000 detentions related to irregular status. Furthermore, effective deportations rose by 40% compared to previous figures.
The Spanish National Police released this data on Friday during the city’s Local Security Board meeting. Consequently, the figures highlight a sharpened focus on enforcing Spain’s Immigration Law in the Catalan capital. This enforcement often occurs through joint operations with local and regional police forces.
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Rising Detentions and Expulsions
According to the official report, authorities detained 982 individuals in 2025. Police identified these individuals as residing in the country without regular status. In most cases, police initiated expulsion files after presenting detainees to the duty court. The administrative process can be lengthy, often resulting in the release of individuals while they await a final resolution from the Ministry of the Interior. However, the number of completed deportations has seen a marked increase.
The National Police successfully processed and executed 243 expulsions from state territory last year. This represents a 40% increase in effective removals. These administrative expulsions largely targeted foreign nationals with records of serious misconduct.
Carlos Prieto, the Spanish government’s delegate in Catalonia, emphasised the distinction between the broader immigrant community and repeat offenders. “The majority of the foreign population comes to contribute and work, but there is a minority that does not,” Prieto stated. “For these people, there are two options: either imprisonment or expulsion.”
Demographics and Diplomatic Challenges
The report notes that the majority of those expelled in 2025 were nationals of Latin American countries. Meanwhile, recent months have seen successful repatriations to Morocco and Algeria. These numbers remain low relative to the volume of repeat offenders from these nations. Police sources cite extensive criminal backgrounds and limited diplomatic cooperation as obstacles to increasing returns to these specific regions.
Joint Police Operations
A significant portion of the enforcement activity was conducted through joint operations. These involved the National Police, the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan regional police), and the Guardia Urbana (municipal police). The presence of National Police agents in these multi-agency operations facilitates immediate checks on immigration status. Therefore, this streamlines the detention process.
One notable initiative, the ‘Plan Kanpai‘, organised by the Mossos with support from other bodies, resulted in the detention of 251 individuals in 2025. These joint efforts ensure that individuals found contravening the Immigration Law during routine security operations are processed efficiently.
International Fugitives in Barcelona
Beyond immigration enforcement, Barcelona remains a critical hub for the capture of international fugitives. In 2025, the National Police arrested 63 fugitives across Spain. Significantly, 26 of those arrests took place in Barcelona alone.
The city’s active Fugitive Group targets individuals wanted for serious crimes. These include drug trafficking, homicide, human trafficking, and sexual assault. Collaboration with foreign police forces continues to yield results into early 2026. For example, investigators recently apprehended a man in Barcelona’s city centre wanted in Serbia for the murder of a martial arts fighter.
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