A barcelona judge has forced the General Directorate of Attention to Children and Adolescents (DGAIA) of the Generalitat and the Immigration Office of Barcelona, of the sub-delegation of the Central Government, to process a legal residence and work permit still young migrant which was supervised by the Generalitat. The boy, who answers to the initials MLJ and who has just turning 18 years old, be expelled from the juvenile center and will be on the street in a week, according to his lawyer’s complaint. For two years now, under the reform of the immigration law, centers for minors must process residence and work permits for all migrant children and young people they welcome, something that has not been complied with in the case of this boy.
“This young man has been under the guardianship of the DGAIA for five months and they have not processed anything for him, when the regulations say that these procedures must be done within a maximum of 90 days,” he complains. Albert Pares, lawyer for the boy and president of the Noves Vies foundation. The judicial opinion that requests that the papers be processed is signed by Court 15 of Barcelona for Administrative Litigation.
The teenager turned 18 last Tuesday, April 25, something that leaves him in a serious situation. “The center where he lives has already told him that she will be homeless in a few days,” the lawyer complains. That is to say, that if this boy had not appealed to the judge, that he has agreed with him, would have stayed on the street without any documentation, despite having been supervised by the Administration. Something that would make his emancipation even more difficult and that violates the law.
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The young man, of African origin, was warned that he would stay on the street last Tuesday, the same day he turned 18. The Gaudí center in Barcelona, managed by the Ciutat i Valors Foundation, informed him that on May 8 he would be expelled from the center. In addition, he has had to sign a document in which he undertakes to contact the street educators service of Barcelona City Council, ask for a place in the municipal shelters for the homeless and in the soup kitchens of the city, which have a waiting list, make an appointment at social services and go to NGOs that can help you, such as the foundation Bayt al-Thaqafa either migrastudium.
Two years ago the Ministry of Social Services decided to modify the regulations of the immigration law to prevent cases like this from continuing to occur: minors who are supervised by the administrations and who, upon reaching the age of majority, go to live in the street. The norm stipulates that, when leaving the centers, young people must have their residence and work permits so that they can get a job and become emancipated. The measure has been applied and has improved the lives of many young people. However, the MLJ case shows that there are still exceptions.