The Generalitat Admits That 40% of Foreign Prisoners Will Never Integrate

Currently, as of March 31, 2025, there are a total of 8,828 inmates in Catalan prisons. It's the highest figure recorded in the last decade. Of these nearly 9,000 criminals who are behind bars, more than half are foreigners (51.8%). A figure that is actually higher, since the remaining 48.2% also includes inmates of foreign origin and those who have been naturalized.

The, perhaps, main problem of having 4,574 foreign inmates in Catalonia's prisons is that 40% of them have no intention of integrating. This is a statement that is not made lightly. It's a statement made by the Generalitat itself.

This statement appears in an official document from the Govern. Specifically, in the "Program Reports" of the Generalitat de Catalunya's budgets for 2023. That is, it's a document prepared by the previous administration. Yes, the one led by Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya under Pere Aragonès.

"48.5% of the inmates are foreigners[a figure that has now increased to 51.8%], of which 40% have no expectations of social and labor integration," states this official document from the Generalitat.

Nearly 100 Million Euros: The Public Cost of Keeping Foreigners Who Won't Integrate

A few days ago, in E-Notícies we published the total cost of keeping the nearly 9,000 criminals in Catalan prisons. The figure is 1.2 million euros daily. That is, 455 million euros annually.

Thus, doing the math, the Generalitat de Catalunya is spending, annually, 94.3 million euros to keep foreign criminals who have no intention of integrating. It's the amount the Catalan government allocates to the approximately 1,800 inmates without a Spanish ID who, according to the Generalitat itself, "have no expectations of integrating."