BADALONA, SPAIN — In the early hours of December 17, 2025, a massive police operation in the city of Badalona effectively dismantled the “B9” settlement, once the largest informal migrant encampment in Catalonia. The eviction of more than 400 individuals—predominantly West and sub-Saharan African migrants—from a disused secondary school has ignited a fierce international debate over human rights, winter safety, and the rising tide of anti-immigrant rhetoric in Spain.
A Humanitarian Crisis in the Cold
The operation, authorized by the Administrative-Contentious Court No. 11 of Barcelona, was executed as temperatures began to drop across the region. Despite the scale of the displacement, municipal authorities reportedly offered emergency housing to only 30 residents deemed most vulnerable.
UN human rights experts, including Special Rapporteur Balakrishnan Rajagopal, expressed “appalled” concern, warning that pushing hundreds into homelessness during winter is a “serious violation of the right to adequate housing.” The experts highlighted that many of those evicted include women, elderly individuals, and those with chronic medical needs who are now left with no choice but to camp in the open or seek refuge in other precarious settlements.
Political Rhetoric and Stigmatization
The eviction has been amplified by a sharp divide in political discourse. Badalona’s conservative mayor, Xavier García Albiol, celebrated the move on social media, describing the residents as “illegal squatters” who made life “impossible” for locals.
However, human rights organizations and UN officials have slammed this framing, arguing that:
- Safety vs. Rights: While the court ruled the building “unsafe,” no legal requirement was established to ensure residents were rehoused.
- Stigmatization: Public officials have been accused of using “harmful rhetoric” that portrays migrants as a security threat without evidence, fueling social division.
- Structural Failure: Advocates argue the B9 settlement was a symptom of Spain’s acute housing crisis, where even migrants with work permits find it impossible to afford traditional housing.
The Global Perspective
This event marks a significant escalation in Spain’s migration tensions. While the central government in Madrid has recently proposed the regularization of 500,000 migrants to bolster the labor market, local actions like those in Badalona suggest a deepening fracture between national policy and regional enforcement.
As the B9 residents disperse into the shadows of Barcelona’s metropolitan area, the UN continues to monitor the situation, urging Spanish authorities to transition from “cycles of eviction” to “rights-based housing solutions.”
