Actions, petitions, posters, false information – confederation politicians, but also Karol Nawrocki and the Reich of Internet users disinform on the centers of integration of foreigners. They alert that they are “centers for illegal immigrants”, that they are created “from taxpayers' money”, that it is the implementation of a migration pact. That's all not true.
First in Płock, and in recent days, also in Siedlce, local confederation activists collect signatures under petitions against the creation of foreigners' integration centers (CIC) in these cities. As part of the campaign, for example, a banner was hung on the Banner bridge “not for the 'Center for Foreigners' in Płock, whose photo published On Facebook in December 2024, a local confederation politician Marek Tucholski. “Exactly. No centers, centers or other places where immigrants will be provided at our expense,” he wrote. In Siedlce, on the other hand, posters with the Confederation logo and the appeal: “Stop immigrants in Siedlce” encourage the signing of petitions. MP of this party Krzysztof Mulawa on January 30 wrote On Facebook: “Not for settling immigrants! We oppose the establishment of the Center for Integration of Foreigners in Siedlce!”
The topic of integration centers of foreigners – often misunderstood as “integration centers for migrants” – also touched the candidate of Law and Justice for president Karol Nawrocki. At a meeting with voters on February 2, 2025 in Prudnik, he said: “While you, dear, you are waiting for the help of the Polish state after this terrible flood, our state builds integration centers for immigrants.” This is an example of a statement misleading public opinion.
Posts with false information about the centers of integration of foreignersx.com
The discussion about CIC – often as alleged “immigrant integration centers” – also takes place on social media. However, many posts are untruth and manipulation. For example, Paweł Zakądek, a confederation politician and former candidate of this party in parliamentary elections, January 20 wrote On the website X: “Foreigners' integration centers will serve illegal immigrants! (…) CIC will be created in 49 former voivodship cities in Poland. In the guidelines of March 2024, we read that voivods are to help illegal immigrants in legalization of stay” (spelling of all posts original). He attached a map of 49 former voivodship cities to the entry – it is now showed by Internet users most often, writing about the centers of integration of foreigners. “Polish Map of Hańba. In these cities for hundreds of millions of zlotys are to be created or the so -called foreigners integration centers (CIC) have already been created” – announced one of the anonymous users of the X website, which entry from February 2 he generated over 125,000 views.
We explain why the distributed messages about CIC are untrue, and their authors manipulate public opinion based on the negative emotions of the recipients.
Integration centers are not resort centers. They mainly serve Ukrainians and Belarusians
First of all, a false message comes from the fact that many think that the centers of integration of foreigners are the same as centers for foreigners run by the Border Guard. It's a mistake – The difference is basic.
Centers for foreigners are places where migrants reach the illegal crossing of the border, who have submitted an application for international protection in Poland or their identity remains undefined. They stay in the centers until their conclusions are considered or identity. The Border Guard currently runs 10 open centers and six closed centers. For example, migrants from the Polish-Belarusian border mainly go to closed centers, from which they cannot leave until they are considered to be considered for protection. If the decision is negative, the foreigner receives a decision to leave Poland.
On the other hand, foreigners' integration centers are not places of permanent migrants. How he explained among others Deputy Minister of Interior and Administration Wiesław Szczepański, it is Information and service points targeted at foreigners legally staying in Poland.
In the “Migration Strategy of Poland for 2025-2030” adopted by the government in October 2024 explainedthat integration centers “They are mainly addressed to the citizens of Ukraine and Belarus who are in Poland'
The CIC institution is therefore more functioning on the principle of an office, not a residence center for foreigners.
This is the idea of the United Right government. The new government continues
The idea of establishing foreigners' integration centers in Poland is not new – dates back to 2021, i.e. the period of the rule of the United Right. It was then that the Ministry of Family and Social Policy announced the pilot of this program, which significantly accelerated after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the acceptance of refugees from Ukraine. Six centers took part in it: one in the Opolskie Voivodeship and five in the Greater Poland Voivodeship.
Read more in Zasta24: Is the integration centers of foreigners a “realization of a migration pact”? No, it's a continuation of the PiS idea
The pilot was officially ended in October 2023 and He collected positive reviews local governments and foreigners who used centers. The new government decided to continue this project using recommendations from the pilot. One of them was to locate centers in all 49 former (in part: also present) provincial cities. That is why the potential deployment of CIC Internet users show on the map of the administrative division before 1999 – but this is not the official map of this program.
Deputy Minister of Interior and Administration, responsible for the migration of dr hab. Maciej Duszczyk in Polsat News: “This is a project of the previous government: a pilot project 2021. On the other hand, the same concept of centers in all voivodship cities or in all regions of former provinces, this is a concept that we inherited. When I saw it, I said: chicken, no PiS Indeed, he proposed something cool. ” At that time, Minister Duszyczyk emphasized that “this is a project addressed mainly to Ukrainians and Belarusians, because there are the most of them today in Poland.”
Financing? From EU funds, not from the Polish budget
There is much more false information around the topic of integration centers of foreigners. According to one of the most popular messages, funds for this project could be allocated to other domestic goals, e.g. help for flood victims. This thread appeared, among others in the statement of Karol Nawrocki on February 2 in Prudnik.
This is not true because The entire cost of the CIC program (PLN 430 million until 2029) is covered by European funds – Specifically: from the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (Fami). Money will be transferred to Poland only for this purpose and cannot be transferred to projects unrelated to migration. That is why the thesis forced by confederation politicians that the centers were created “at our expense” or “for taxpayers' money” is also false.
Another popular and false message says that the creation of centers is the implementation of the EU migration pact in Poland. This However, it is to enter into force only in 2026 and will apply to people illegally crossing the EU border, while Integration centers are being created now and are intended for foreigners legally staying in Polandmainly from Ukraine and Belarus.
Local governments are fighting disinformation
False information widespread now about CIC has verified in message of January 28, the City Hall of Ciechanów, in which one of the Mazovian integration centers of foreigners is to be built. The statement states that “Due to the disinformation on refugees appearing in public space,” the office informs that:
– CIC are not places of staying or removing migrants; They have nothing to do with refugees' dislocation; – CIC support foreigners already located in a given administrative area; – Cic are not built, i.e. new buildings will not be built for their needs anywhere in the country; – Cic rent premises with an area of about 100 square meters and function like many offices between 8-16, accepting customers; – CICs offer services such as: language training, vocational training, psychological care, legal support in employment; They act as information and consulting points.
Similar announcement He published the Marshal's Office of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship in December 2024. He noted that “some political activists, using the fear of strangers and refugees, carried out happenings in the cities of Mazovia, scaring residents and attacking city authorities that they allow them to build centers for them on their area.” It was explained that “the centers are to be created as part of a long -term concept, allowing to minimize any bad phenomena that could appear if foreigners were not included in social life.” And it was recalled that “Caritas, already leading 28 such centers in Poland, also joined the current project in many voivodships.” It was emphasized that these centers are constantly working and “did not turn into residence centers”.
Source of the main photo: mapadotacja.gov.pl/