From the municipal headquarters in Carabanchel, during a Government Board meeting, Almeida expressed his dissatisfaction with the measure, arguing that Pedro Sánchez's Government has left local councils "in the dark" without providing clear explanations or guidelines on how to proceed. The mayor of Madrid affirmed that the City Council will not take responsibility for a process on which it has not been consulted.
“"No one has met with us to explain what we need to do. They expect it to come from us, but we are not going to take responsibility for this process."
Accompanied by Deputy Mayor Inmaculada Sanz and the councilor-president of Carabanchel, Carlos Izquierdo, Almeida linked the regularization to the potential legalization of individuals with criminal records, despite one of the requirements for the norm being the presentation of a criminal record certificate. He insisted that the Madrid City Council will not cooperate in what he considers a "botch that disrespects people's dignity," emphasizing concerns about police records.
“"They have slipped in a trap with the criminal records [...] It is not xenophobia to say that with this decree, people with very serious records will be regularized."
In response to these statements, the PSOE spokesperson in the Madrid City Council and former minister, Reyes Maroto, accused Almeida of spreading a "dangerous hoax" and following a party strategy to "spread that regularization will bring crime" and "fuel hatred" towards people who contribute to the city. Nevertheless, Almeida reiterated that the dignity of these individuals is "non-negotiable" for his team and that the City Council will continue to offer all public services to migrants, though he insisted that it is the central government that must provide resources to municipalities to manage migratory flows.
The requirements for regularization, according to the text approved by the Council of Ministers, include having no criminal record, having arrived in the country before January 1, 2026, and proving continuous stay for at least five months. Asylum seekers who registered their application before that date can also apply. The royal decree outlines regularization pathways for employment reasons (job offer or self-employment project), family reasons (family unit with dependent children or individuals), or due to vulnerability, the latter requiring a social report.
