Rise in Migrant Arrivals Challenges Canary Islands Amid Political Turmoil
Canary Islands receive over 1,000 unaccompanied minors in the first two months of 2025, prompting urgent calls for state-level immigration policy reform.
As of February 28, 2025, the Canary Islands have recorded a troubling continuation of the migrant crisis, matching the heightened levels seen in 2024, which was marked by a record influx of irregular arrivals.
In 2024, the archipelago documented 46,843 irregular migrants, making it the second highest annual total on record, following over 39,000 arrivals in 2023. Out of this total, 6,344 were unaccompanied foreign minors (known as MENAs).
In the first two months of 2025 alone, 7,231 irregular migrants have reached the Canary Islands, including 1,030 minors, adding to an existing population of 5,800 minors in the regional care system, all having arrived over the previous year.
This current influx suggests that the total number of new migrants for 2025 could reach 43,386, with projections estimating that 6,180 of them would be unaccompanied minors.
The regional government has labeled the ongoing migrant situation as an "humanitarian emergency," emphasizing the strain on its 81 reception centers and the significant financial burdens placed on local budgets.
Concurrently, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) has reached an agreement to transfer immigration responsibilities to Catalonia, a move that the regional authorities in the Canary Islands, including President Fernando Clavijo, have criticized as insufficient and detrimental to their efforts.
The current governance in Catalonia, led by Salvador Illa of the PSC, has historically been reluctant to participate in relocating these minors, paralleling the previous administration under Pere Aragonès from ERC.
A source within the Canary Islands government stated that this decision lacks a comprehensive state-level policy, characterizing the transfer of immigration authority as an oversight while they are dealing with a critical crisis.
The sentiment of betrayal is pervasive among Canary Islands officials, who have engaged in negotiation with the Spanish federal government for over a year and a half.
A spokesperson from the regional government has expressed frustration over what they termed a lack of commitment from the central government, pointing to the prioritization of political agreements over urgent humanitarian needs.
On the same day the PSOE-Catalonia agreement was made public, Juan Jesús Vivas, President of Ceuta, voiced significant concerns regarding the implications of the new policy framework.
Vivas responded emphatically against the decision, considering it a misstep and arguing that it diverges from the principles laid out in the Spanish Constitution and the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, which he asserts underscored the need for a collaborative and unified response to migration.
Ceuta's own reception centers for unaccompanied minors are reportedly operating at 400% of their capacity, significantly impacting local finances as they allocate 75% of their monthly resources to managing this demographic.
The challenges faced by both Ceuta and the Canary Islands are compounded by an ongoing sense of neglect from national political dynamics, leaving local authorities feeling isolated.
Negotiations were underway for the central government to impose a decree reassigning the relocation of 4,000 minors from the Canary Islands and 400 from Ceuta to other regions in mainland Spain, but these discussions have stalled.
The proposed decree had initially arisen from a prior agreement between the Canary president and the Basque lehendakari, Imanol Pradales, which suggested criteria for distribution that exempted regions like Catalonia and the Basque Country from receiving any of the minors.
The Minister of Youth and Children, Sira Rego, assured in early February of plans to establish quotas for each region's contribution to solving the crisis, which would alleviate some burden on the Canary Islands and Ceuta.
However, regional officials report no further developments on this commitment, with calls from President Clavijo for updates often met with vague responses indicating complexity in the calculations involved.
The current situation underscores the ongoing tensions and complexities surrounding migration policy and its management within Spain.
In 2024, the archipelago documented 46,843 irregular migrants, making it the second highest annual total on record, following over 39,000 arrivals in 2023. Out of this total, 6,344 were unaccompanied foreign minors (known as MENAs).
In the first two months of 2025 alone, 7,231 irregular migrants have reached the Canary Islands, including 1,030 minors, adding to an existing population of 5,800 minors in the regional care system, all having arrived over the previous year.
This current influx suggests that the total number of new migrants for 2025 could reach 43,386, with projections estimating that 6,180 of them would be unaccompanied minors.
The regional government has labeled the ongoing migrant situation as an "humanitarian emergency," emphasizing the strain on its 81 reception centers and the significant financial burdens placed on local budgets.
Concurrently, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) has reached an agreement to transfer immigration responsibilities to Catalonia, a move that the regional authorities in the Canary Islands, including President Fernando Clavijo, have criticized as insufficient and detrimental to their efforts.
The current governance in Catalonia, led by Salvador Illa of the PSC, has historically been reluctant to participate in relocating these minors, paralleling the previous administration under Pere Aragonès from ERC.
A source within the Canary Islands government stated that this decision lacks a comprehensive state-level policy, characterizing the transfer of immigration authority as an oversight while they are dealing with a critical crisis.
The sentiment of betrayal is pervasive among Canary Islands officials, who have engaged in negotiation with the Spanish federal government for over a year and a half.
A spokesperson from the regional government has expressed frustration over what they termed a lack of commitment from the central government, pointing to the prioritization of political agreements over urgent humanitarian needs.
On the same day the PSOE-Catalonia agreement was made public, Juan Jesús Vivas, President of Ceuta, voiced significant concerns regarding the implications of the new policy framework.
Vivas responded emphatically against the decision, considering it a misstep and arguing that it diverges from the principles laid out in the Spanish Constitution and the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, which he asserts underscored the need for a collaborative and unified response to migration.
Ceuta's own reception centers for unaccompanied minors are reportedly operating at 400% of their capacity, significantly impacting local finances as they allocate 75% of their monthly resources to managing this demographic.
The challenges faced by both Ceuta and the Canary Islands are compounded by an ongoing sense of neglect from national political dynamics, leaving local authorities feeling isolated.
Negotiations were underway for the central government to impose a decree reassigning the relocation of 4,000 minors from the Canary Islands and 400 from Ceuta to other regions in mainland Spain, but these discussions have stalled.
The proposed decree had initially arisen from a prior agreement between the Canary president and the Basque lehendakari, Imanol Pradales, which suggested criteria for distribution that exempted regions like Catalonia and the Basque Country from receiving any of the minors.
The Minister of Youth and Children, Sira Rego, assured in early February of plans to establish quotas for each region's contribution to solving the crisis, which would alleviate some burden on the Canary Islands and Ceuta.
However, regional officials report no further developments on this commitment, with calls from President Clavijo for updates often met with vague responses indicating complexity in the calculations involved.
The current situation underscores the ongoing tensions and complexities surrounding migration policy and its management within Spain.
Translation:
Translated by AI
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