Esquerra Republicana Member of the Catalan Parliament Ruben Wagensberg proposes a motion calling for Immigration Detention Centres to be closed, and which rejects ethnic profiling when stopping and identifying by police

Analysing cases of racism by police and law enforcement, and examining what measures are needed to prevent racial discrimination. These are the goals of a research commission that Esquerra Republicana has included in a motion for the next plenary session in Parliament.

Esquerra want the parliamentary study to focus on detentions and identifications that several organisations have linked to ethnic profiling, especially after the community-led campaign 'Pareu de parar-me' or 'Stop Stopping Me'. That is why Esquerra MP Ruben Wagensberg wants to "shed light on all situations" that have been reported, and also listen to security management experts. "Such a sensitive issue has to be treated very carefully," he said.

Through this commission, Esquerra seeks to make joint assessments with other parliamentary groups, as well as entities and experts, to prevent such cases from occurring and, where appropriate, to create protocols to avoid any further episodes. The aim is also to study particular cases where those arrested are interned at Immigration Detention Centres (Centres d'Internament d'Estrangers, CIE), which act as covert penitentiaries exclusively for foreigners, where cases of serious human rights violations are reported. In fact, one of the points in the motion also calls for the closure of these facilities, including one located in the Barcelona Zona Franca free zone, since they are "an expression of institutional and structural racism."

Esquerra’s motion therefore also calls for Parliament to convey its concern over the arrests and identifications that have been reported by various social organisations and entities. The proposition, which will be discussed in the plenary in March, urges the Catalan Government to establish protocols to prevent fresh cases of ethnic profiling, as well as to open procedures and mechanisms to report and correct them.