🇪🇸 Spain · Algeciras

CIE Algeciras (La Piñera)

Migrant centre Former use unknown 📍 Antigua Prisión de La Piñera, 11205 Algeciras, Cádiz Capacity: 192 Converted: 2000

Was: Former provincial penitentiary (Antigua Cárcel de La Piñera).

CIE Algeciras (La Piñera) is an Immigration Detention Centre located in the La Piñera neighborhood of Algeciras, Spain. It occupies the site of a former provincial prison that was repurposed into an administrative detention facility following the opening of a newer regional penitentiary.

Context & Operations: Operated by the Spanish Ministry of Interior through the Policía Nacional, the centre is used for the administrative detention of undocumented migrants pending deportation. Its strategic location near the Strait of Gibraltar has historically made it a primary node in Spain's southern border enforcement infrastructure.

Controversies: The facility has been universally condemned by human rights organizations, civil society groups, and the Spanish Ombudsman (Defensor del Pueblo) due to its punitive, prison-like architecture. Detainees have frequently faced dilapidated conditions, barred cells, and inadequate sanitary infrastructure, prompting long-standing government plans to permanently close it and replace it with a newly constructed CIE in the Botafuegos area.

Location

Video evidence

Official contacts & outreach

Requests we have sent to councils, mayors and local authorities about this facility, with the status of their response.

Ministerio del Interior (Portal de Transparencia) Other Awaiting response

Requested: 8 Oct 2026

What we asked: 1. Please provide a detailed demographic and statistical breakdown of the individuals detained at CIE Algeciras (La Piñera) since 2020, including specific data on country of origin, age, and religious affiliation if recorded.
2. What was the total financial expense, including maintenance, catering, and security outsourcing contracts, for the operation of this facility over the last three financial years?
3. Please provide copies of any formal community consultation documents, structural safety assessments, or correspondence with the Algeciras City Council regarding the local community's consent and whether residents were asked if they wanted this detention facility to continue operating in the La Piñera neighborhood.

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