Spain's Vox mirrors UK far right with protests against migrant centres

The Spanish far-right is stepping up protests at migrant reception centres, while the hard-line Vox party is planning a political response in a region of southern Spain.

Hundreds of protestors gathered outside a centre for unaccompanied minors in Madrid this week, feeding anti-migrant sentiment and boldly stating: “If it’s a hate crime, report it.” Demonstrators carried placards with slogans such as “Menas to Morocco!”, “Out with the psychopath Sánchez!”, “Our daughters are afraid” and “Deportations = security”.

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This comes as the Vox leadership in Murcia has pledged to close down all youth migrant centres in the region.

The escalation in protests and political rhetoric is reminiscent of recent demonstrations outside migrant hotels in the UK, though in Spain these are usually reception centres rather than hotels and the migrants are underage.

READ ALSO: Disinformation catalyses anti-migrant unrest in Spain

Housing illegal migrants in residential areas has caused social strife in Spain and the UK and the response in both, whether protests or politics, often blur the line between legal and illegal migrants and can take on more general anti-foreigner rhetoric. In both countries, online disinformation and misinformation has fuelled protests in the past.

The demonstrations in Madrid follow inciting incidents in the capital. A migrant minor staying at the Hortaleza reception centre was last week arrested for the rape of a 14-year-old girl in a nearby park, sparking widespread anger and protests outside the centre with a visible Vox presence.

Over the weekend, El País reported that "two hooded individuals assaulted two [minor] foreign residents of this centre in the Hortaleza district, who were accompanied by a third adult." One was hospitalised.

This comes amid news that Vox, who prop up the centre-right Partido Popular in Murcia, is preparing to "besiege all centres in Murcia that take in foreigners," according to reports in the Spanish press. "In September, the closure of the centre for unaccompanied minors in Santa Cruz must take effect, but Vox is not stopping there. We want to close all illegal centres that are dependent on the region," said regional Vox leader José Ángel Antelo.

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According to information provided by the Regional Ministry of Social Policy, there are around forty migrant facilities in the region. Data from the Regional Ministry cited by El Periódico shows that around 620 children and adolescents reside in centres in the region.

Antelo also urged the regional authorities to implement agreements set out in Spain's Immigration Law which allows regional authorities to draw up agreements with countries of origin to facilitate the deportation of undocumented immigrants.

The Councillor for External Affairs, Marcos Ortuño, has announced that he is to set up a "technical committee to establish the necessary mechanisms to attempt family reunification in their countries of origin for unaccompanied minors."

"The first thing to do is to carry out expert tests on those who say they are minors, because 90 percent of them in Arágon are of legal age,’ he added, without any supporting evidence.

Vox will also register an initiative in the Assembly to hold a referendum asking residents "if they want to continue financing these illegal centres."

"Citizens have the right to choose what they want, whether their taxes go to funding illegal immigration, which is destroying our neighbourhoods, or whether they want them to go to healthcare… ultimately, to what is important, which is funding the citizens of the Murcia region," Antelo said.

Murcia gained international headlines last month after clashes between far-right groups and migrants in the town of Torre Pacheco after a local man was beaten by three Moroccan migrants.

READ ALSO: What's caused the recent anti-migrant unrest in Spain?