Riot police stormed an old school building where over 400 mostly undocumented migrants have been squatting. The abandoned premises had been taken over by migrants mostly from Senegal and Gambia, after the school closed down in 2023.

Most of the occupants left the squat before the police raid, having got wind of the forthcoming eviction. Those that remained left without putting up a fight, after police offers entered the building. The eviction was granted by a court in the Spanish city of Badalona, that borders Barcelona.

The mayor Xavier García Albiol announced the news on his X social media page, writing: “As I had promised, the eviction of the 400 illegal squatters in the B9 school in Badalona begins.”

Albiol is a member of the conservative Popular Party (PP) and has built his political reputation on an anti-immigration stance.

The eviction order obliged the local town hall to ensure that the evicted refugees would still have access to social services. However, it did not mandate local authorities to find alternative accommodation for the migrants.

Lawyers representing the refugees said many would likely be forced to love on the streets in the cold.

“Many people are going to sleep on the street tonight,” Marta Llonch told Euronews. “Just because you evict these people it doesn’t mean they disappear.

“If you don’t give them an alternative place to live they will now be on the street, which will be a problem for them and the city.”

The refugees were forced to squat because they could not afford to rent accommodation.

Many Spaniards are struggling to buy or rent homes due to a cost-of-living crunch. The housing crisis has sparked widespread public anger and several huge protests, as the national government struggles to provide solutions.