Palma City Council has removed more than 200 homeless people from the census register

PalmHePalma City Council The city has removed some 240 homeless people from the municipal register after initiating a review of the city's resident registry in the last four months of 2025. The handling of the case has sparked considerable controversy because it involves basic rights, especially after the initial explanations of the Councilor for Social Services were called into question. Lourdes Rocawhich even the City Council has contradicted.

Initially, the councilwoman had assured that the lists came from the Red Cross and that this type of information exchange was common. However, it has since emerged that the data request originated from the City Council. Sources from the NGO have confirmed this to this newspaper, as Cadena Ser reportedThe request came from the City Council, and this was the first time they had been asked for this type of information. Sources within the organization explained that such lists had never been requested in any previous administration.

Cort, in fact, in a statement sent Thursday afternoon, contradicts Roca's initial version and explains that "on September 18, 2025, the Red Cross, at the request of municipal Social Services technicians, submitted a review of the list of vulnerable individuals registered at fictitious addresses." In this communication, the organization identified various situations and included people with whom no contact had been maintained for more than six months, making it impossible to verify whether they were still homeless or residing in the municipality, or to confirm whether they met the requirements for this type of registration.

The City Council maintains that the review of certain registrations of vulnerable individuals complies with current regulations and is carried out following the technical criteria established by municipal social services. Cort argues that this protocol regulates the registration procedure for vulnerable people experiencing homelessness and their periodic monitoring, and stipulates that any change in circumstances—change of address, leaving shelters, moving to another region or municipality, regularization of housing or accommodation, etc.—must result in their removal from the registry, with the aim of maintaining the 2020 municipal register from the National Institute of Statistics.

The City Council emphasizes that the protocol establishes that the Red Cross's Mobile Social Emergency Unit (UMES), as the entity responsible for this group, will update the list of assisted individuals who remain homeless every six months. "It should be noted that, to date, this procedure was not being applied, thus violating current regulations," explain sources from the City Hall. Cort also assures that initiating the procedure does not imply automatic removal from the municipal register, and if it is proven that the individuals still reside in the municipality or are being assisted by Social Services or other entities, the case will be closed. "It means leaving them without rights."

According to the Socialist spokesperson in Cort, Xisco DucrósRemoving a person from the municipal register means depriving them of access to basic rights. "It's not a simple administrative procedure; it means leaving them without rights, without access to doctors, social assistance, or even schooling," she emphasized. Ducrós maintains that Roca lied during the January municipal plenary session when she claimed it was common practice for the Red Cross to send lists of people they had been unable to locate for six months. However, according to the NGO, this practice had never been applied to people in situations of social emergency, which has intensified the controversy surrounding the management of the register. "Erased by the Administration"

According to Ducrós, "What the Palma City Council has done with more than 200 homeless people is, literally, erase them from the Administration's records. public. People who cease to exist in the eyes of the public administration and who are left even more unprotected."

"We are facing a very serious case of malpractice by the Councilor for Social Welfare, a management style that targets precisely those who need the most help," said Ducrós. He explained that "Ms. Roca has lied to the public about the origin of this decision, and, out of political responsibility, the Socialists of Palma demand that the mayor dismiss her, because she cannot continue to lead an area that is fundamental for the residents." Meanwhile, this Friday the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) demanded that the mayor apologize to the Red Cross and third-sector organizations for his systematic attacks. The general secretary of the Palma Socialist group, Iago Negueruela, believes that they are "facing a censorious mayor who is acting against the rights of the vulnerable, of people who lack resources, and of the organizations that represent them."

In response, Unidas Podemos in the Palma City Council has submitted a motion to halt the removal of residents from the municipal register, which affects vulnerable individuals, especially the homeless, migrants, and citizens facing serious housing difficulties. The party has also called for the resignation of Lourdes Roca, whom they hold politically responsible for lying to the citizens of Palma. "The municipal government cannot use the register as a tool to administratively expel vulnerable people. Councilor Lourdes Roca has lied and, consequently, must resign," demanded Lucía Muñoz, the spokesperson for Podemos Palma.

Unidas Podemos wants to stop the removal of people from the electoral register.

Unidas Podemos has also warned that losing one's registration on the municipal register can have very serious consequences. In the case of migrants, it can interrupt the calculation of the residency period required to begin administrative regularization processes. For homeless people or those experiencing housing exclusion, being removed from the register creates difficulties in accessing basic services and social benefits. The party has also denounced the fact that many of those affected do not receive effective notifications of open cases precisely because of their homelessness or precarious situation, which can lead to situations of administrative vulnerability.

In response to this situation, the motion presented by Unidas Podemos proposes immediately halting all deregistration proceedings affecting vulnerable individuals until their right to effective notification and administrative defense is fully guaranteed. It also calls for strengthening municipal social registration protocols, maintaining their registration at administrative addresses for people without a fixed address, and establishing stable coordination mechanisms with social service organizations.