A group of at least 285 illegal migrants under pre-trial detention at Spanish inmate centers applied to become beneficiaries of the socialist government’s mass amnesty plan, a report states.
Nearly 1.2 million illegal migrants in Spain submitted applications over the past months to receive “legal” residence status, work permits, and other benefits that come with the Spanish government’s widely-reviled mass amnesty plan. The staggering amount of filed applications far eclipses the “half a million” estimates initially claimed by Spanish authorities.
Migrants seeking to become beneficiaries of the amnesty had until June 30 to file applications and comply with the notably lax requirements. The administration of socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez imposed itself a three month deadline starting this month to process all of the submitted applications.
The Spanish outlet Ok Diario reports that, among the nearly 1.2 million applicants, a group of 285 migrants under pre-trial detention applied to receive amnesty. The Spanish General Secretariat for Penitentiary Institutions reportedly did not specify to Ok Diario how many of the 285 prisoners are in jail on serious crimes when inquired. Per the outlet, the Penitentiary authorities responded, “being held in pre-trial detention does not imply guilt.”
People queue to get a certificate of vulnerability at a Registration Assistance Office, on 22 April, 2026 in Madrid, Spain, as the extraordinary regularisation of migrants, promoted by the government, began in person. Around half a million people will be able to go by appointment to Social Security, Foreigners’ Office or Post Office to start the process. (Carlos Lujan/Europa Press via Getty Images)
“Given that the inmates in question are in pretrial detention, it is impossible to determine the criminal activity and the severity of the offense, since the incriminating evidence and the facts of the case are addressed in the criminal proceedings,” the Spanish penitentiary authorities reportedly told Ok Diario.
“The pretrial detention order is recorded in the prison system as objective data, and the severity of the alleged offense may vary, even though the deprivation of liberty remains in effect during the criminal proceedings,” the authorities continued.
Ok Diario stated that there have been several instances of migrants who requested to become amnesty beneficiaries despite having committed felonies.
Last week, Ok Diario reported the case of a 33 year-old Algerian man who detained on June 6 after he sexually assaulted and seriously injured a 19 year-old Spanish young woman, leaving her with a broken nose and several facial bruises, among other lesions. He was reportedly released shortly after testifying before a court, awaiting a new hearing.
Unnamed police sources told Ok Diario that the Algerian man is one of the migrants who applied for amnesty in recent months. The man reportedly arrived in Spain less than a year ago and “had no criminal records.”
Similarly, Ok Diario reported in May that migrants in pre-trial detention — such as Moroccan nationals accused of jihadism and Bolivians accused of drug trafficking — had requested information on how to become beneficiaries of the government’s amnesty.
According to the Spanish government, illegal migrants seeking to receive amnesty had to show proof that they have no criminal records and “do not pose a threat to public order, public safety, or public health.”
However, the Spanish government reportedly changed its own rules in April days before it started receiving amnesty applications — claiming that “The mere presence of a criminal record in the police report shall not, in and of itself, automatically constitute grounds for denying authorization.” Several reports published at the time indicated that Spanish penitentiary authorities were allegedly providing assistance to migrant inmates’ amnesty applications.
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