Overview
- National Police officers, including a UPR unit, restored order outside the Gambia embassy in Madrid after a group tried to climb the gate on Tuesday, and no arrests or injuries were reported.
- Crowds had waited through the night for appointments and tension flared around 10 a.m. when people were told no more slots were available.
- What people were seeking remains disputed, with some reports tying the rush to vulnerability certificates for Spain's regularization process while the embassy said the queues were only for passport issuance under limited consular capacity.
- The vulnerability certificate is a document from social services or authorized NGOs that confirms hardship and serves as a key route for migrants who lack work contracts or family ties to qualify for the extraordinary regularization.
- The mid-April launch of the large regularization, expected to reach as many as 500,000 people, has driven surges in demand for documents that a police union calls chaotic and that aid groups say require more staff and passport supplies.