CIE de Aluche

Slipping through the cracks. That’s what many felt like at the CIE de Aluche. The Centro de Internamiento de Extranjeros in Madrid’s Aluche district. A place where lives were held in suspension. A 2016 El Pais article revealed the stories of people like D.M., a former Ecuadorian army civil servant. D.M. found himself at CIE de Aluche in 2012. He slept on a thin mattress. His small room crammed twelve occupants into eight beds. D.M. wasn’t a criminal. He hadn’t committed any crime in Spain or his home country. He simply lost his job and couldn’t renew his residency permit. He was detained because authorities feared he might flee. CIE de Aluche housed nearly 7,000 people in a single year. Many like D.M., caught in a web of legal technicalities. The El Pais article highlighted the unclear legal status of many detainees. Around 52% were eventually deported. But what happened to the others? Those who couldn’t be sent home? Attorney Luis Lafon Nicuesa explained they were supposed to be released immediately. Yet, many found themselves trapped. In October 2016, forty men tried to escape CIE de Aluche. They staged a rooftop protest. Their desperate cries echoed against the walls, a testament to the conditions inside. D.M. spent the maximum 60 days allowed at CIE de Aluche. He lived in constant fear of deportation. His entire family resided in Spain. The thought of returning to Ecuador was a nightmare. He credits his faith and prayer for helping him through the ordeal. He spoke of the harsh realities within those walls. He recounted the story of a Moroccan man who was severely beaten by the guards. He described the ever-present threat of solitary confinement for anyone who “made too much fuss”. Official reports deny these claims. They speak of regular Red Cross visits. They insist there were no solitary cells. But D.M.’s story, along with others, paints a different picture. D.M.’s experience reveals a flawed system. A system where administrative irregularities could strip individuals of their freedom. He left CIE de Aluche facing a Catch-22. He needed a job for a residency permit. He needed a residency permit for a job. He eventually found work as a mechanic and plasterer. His story reminds us of the human cost of immigration policies. The fear, the uncertainty, the struggle to belong. The CIE de Aluche stands as a stark reminder. A reminder of the invisible walls that divide us.