Hot returns of migrants at the southern border of Europe: The case of Melilla

Abstract

Express deportations in Melilla, a Spanish city on the border of Europe with the Northern African country of Morocco, violate European regulations for protection of Human Rights. The practice of deporting migrants on site does not make provision for identifying the migrant that climbs the borderland fence between both countries, which prevents the appeal of such an administrative decision. Therefore, the migrant is denied the right to effective judicial protection, enshrined in the Spanish Constitution. Nor is he allowed to seek asylum, interpreter services or legal assistance at the border and he is returned by unlawful conduct to a country (Morocco) where being an irregular migrant is a crime. Thus, the principle of non-return to an unsafe place is ignored by the authorities and, in most cases, by passing the prohibition on mass deportation.

This article studies the legal framework of express deportations prior to the decision of the European Court on Human Rights in February 2020 that overlooked the responsibilities of Spain, by favoring national security concerns of the state above human rights.