VALENCIA – Long queues of immigrants formed from the early hours of the morning outside Valencia City Hall on Thursday as the government’s controversial mass regularization process officially got underway.
Major Computer Failure Paralyzes Police Background Checks for Spain’s Mass Migrant Regularization
Dozens of people, many of them from North African countries, waited in long lines hoping to submit their paperwork for the extraordinary regularization program approved by the Pedro Sánchez government. However, what was expected to be an organized start quickly turned into scenes of chaos and frustration. After waiting for several hours, many applicants were informed that a system failure had occurred, preventing them from completing their applications.
According to witnesses and those present, officials told the crowd that the computer system had collapsed and that they would have to return on Monday to continue the process.
The scenes of long queues and people being turned away have sparked widespread criticism, with many questioning the government’s preparedness for a regularization program that is expected to process hundreds of thousands of applications nationwide.
This technical breakdown comes only days after reports emerged of a two-month-long computer failure in the police background-check system used for foreign residency applications, which has already forced officers to carry out thousands of manual checks.
The mass regularization process, promoted by the Sánchez government and supported by left-wing parties, has been highly controversial. Critics argue that it risks becoming a “call effect” for irregular migration and that proper security checks are not being adequately performed due to the overwhelming volume and technical problems.
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Valencia City Hall has not yet issued an official statement regarding Thursday’s incidents.
