Podcast Summary: Un tema Al Día – “Desahucio-CIE-Deportación: el día que se llevaron a Marta”

Host: Juanlu Sánchez
Guest: Josep París (journalist)
Aired: December 18, 2025

Main Theme

This episode tells the harrowing personal story of Marta, a Colombian woman deported from Spain after 23 years of living and working there. The narrative explores the bureaucratic traps, lack of legal protection, and emotional toll on people like Marta—undocumented migrants caught between precarious employment, eviction, and eventual expulsion. Through Marta’s first-person testimony and analysis by journalist Josep París, the host uncovers the opaque and punitive mechanisms of Spain’s migration enforcement system, especially the functioning of Centros de Internamiento de Extranjeros (CIE).

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Marta’s Deportation: The Personal Journey

• Deportation Flight (00:40):
  • Marta recounts the moment she was taken onto the airplane in Madrid—handcuffed, with police, and little information.
  • Quote:
    “Íbamos por lo menos policía y así allí tuvimos los lazos puestos durante el vuelo. Bueno, unas horas. Unas horas.”
    — Marta ([00:40])
• On Arrival in Colombia (01:11):
  • Police returned her belongings just before landing, but wouldn't allow phone use.
  • She felt lost on arrival; a fellow deportee tried to help her call someone in Colombia.

2. Marta's Life in Spain & Regularization Attempts

• Background (01:34):

  • Marta arrived in 2002 and lived a “normal” life in Zaragoza with her family.
  • Worked as a cleaner, carer, waitress, often without a contract—making regularization impossible.
  • Her precarious status increased vulnerability to bureaucratic misfortune.

• Quote:
  “Trabajo para familias, para empresas, para empresarios. Pago sus impuestos al comprar o al pagar la factura de la luz. Pero sin contrato no hay papeles.”
  — Juanlu Sánchez ([01:34])

• Regularization Attempts (05:15):

  • Journalist Josep París explains Marta tried to regularize during the 2005 mass regularization but was trapped in bureaucratic setbacks—lost jobs, manipulated paperwork by employers.
  • Quote:
    “Marta desde que llegó intentó de todas las maneras posibles poder regularizar su situación... Cuando pierdes tu trabajo... pueden pasar años.”
    — Josep París ([05:15])

3. The Event that Triggered Expulsion

• Desahucio (Eviction) and Arrest (06:23):

  • Marta’s eviction wasn’t properly notified. Returning home late at night, she tried to enter and, after being seen by a neighbor, was accused of breaking and entering.
  • The police record discovered her undocumented status, leading to her CIE detention and eventual deportation.
  • Quote:
    “Ese fue el mazazo final... porque ahí la policía abrió el informe policial, se vio que no tenía los papeles y ha hecho todo el recorrido que finalmente termina en el Centro de Internamiento de Extranjeros.”
    — Josep París ([06:23])

• Limited Legal Recourse (07:55):

  • Despite 23 years in Spain, her family, and a Spanish-born child, the authorities dismissed her ties (arraigo) due to lack of specific paperwork.
  • Quote:
    “El concepto de arraigo parece que aquí no ha valido nada... No se ha tenido en cuenta.”
    — Juanlu Sánchez ([07:55])

4. The CIE Experience

• Life Inside the CIE (09:42):

  • Operates like a prison—strict routines, barred rooms, supervised by police (not prison officers).
  • Reports of psychological and physical violence, humiliations, lack of support.
  • Quote:
    “Al final es una reja, una reja propia de una cárcel... puede haber bofetadas, insultos o celdas de aislamiento.”
    — Josep París ([09:42])

• Communication Barriers (11:11):

  • Detainees can stay up to 60 days—if not deported in that time, they’re released.
  • Marta was not given the required 24-48 hour notice of deportation, preventing her from contacting family or preparing for forced removal.
  • Quote:
    “La principal vulneración de su caso es que no se la avisó ni con 24 ni 48 horas.”
    — Josep París ([11:11])

5. Mistreatment and Lack of Dignity in Deportation (13:33 - 14:09)

• Dignity Violated:
  • Marta details being denied access to a bathroom during menstruation while handcuffed.
  • Quote:
    “Yo tenía la regla, mi regla es abundante y pedía ir al baño... me dijeron que no, que me hiciera ahí en el coche.”
    — Marta ([13:33])
  • Transported hours with hands bruised and swollen; authorities ignored her discomfort.

6. Consequences: A Broken Family (15:01)

• Aftermath in Colombia:
  • Marta is isolated, struggling with culture shock and insecurity in Cali, virtually penniless, unable to return, and cut off from her children and family in Spain.
  • Quote:
    “Ahora mismo ya no está. Esa familia está rota.”
    — Josep París ([15:01])

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• “El abismo... nos empujaron con bolsas de basura, que recogiéramos nuestras cosas, que nos íbamos... sin respuesta ni nada, que nos diéramos prisa.”
  — Marta ([02:51])
• “Los CIE son lugares opacos, no sabemos mucho de lo que pasa dentro, así que nos tenemos que guiar por los testimonios.”
  — Juanlu Sánchez ([12:22])
• “Marta es una persona ahora mismo devastada, destrozada, que no tiene forma de caminar, no sabe cuál es su futuro... Esa familia está rota.”
  — Josep París ([15:01])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:40-01:11 – Marta describes being deported and arriving in Colombia.
• 01:34-02:28 – Marta's life and work in Spain, her undocumented status.
• 05:15-06:05 – Attempts at residency and bureaucratic barriers.
• 06:23-07:55 – Eviction incident and triggering of deportation procedures.
• 09:42-11:05 – Inside the CIE: conditions, routines, testimonies.
• 11:11-12:22 – Procedural violations: lack of deportation notice.
• 13:33-14:09 – Dignity violations during deportation transfer.
• 15:01-16:09 – Marta’s devastation and the effects on her family.

Tone and Style

The episode carries a somber, empathetic tone, mixing factual reporting with emotional, firsthand narrative. Marta’s testimony is direct and deeply human, while the host and journalist provide context with compassion and clarity, giving voice to those lost in bureaucratic processes.

Summary

This episode of Un tema Al Día unflinchingly exposes the overwhelming difficulties faced by long-term undocumented migrants in Spain. Marta’s story is emblematic of a system that can erase decades of life, family, and community ties with a few bureaucratic missteps. Through personal experience and investigative journalism, the episode critiques the opacity and harshness of the CIE system and the profound human cost of current immigration enforcement.