Since 16 October, the Spanish government led by Prime Minister Sánchez has already transferred 26,225 immigrants from the Canary Islands to the mainland. On this October date, the government declared a state of emergency in view of the increase in illegal arrivals to the archipelago off the coast of Africa.
In the last months of 2023, from October 16 to December 31, 2023, 12,581 people have already been transferred to the mainland. This year, the government has transferred another 13,644, according to sources from Spain’s Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.
Situation of underage immigrants
A separate issue is the situation of the more than 5,500 minors who have arrived in the Canary Islands in the same way and who are currently being received on the islands. This is because this falls under the competence of the Autonomous Community, which is overburdened and under-resourced.
The central government has now committed to making the necessary changes to the regulations so that these children and young people can be distributed throughout Spain.
Secretary of State for Migration, Pilar Cancela, said she hopes that within “three or four weeks” the government will have an approach on the matter.
Interministerial Committee on Immigration
She also pointed out that the Interministerial Committee on Immigration has been set up for this purpose, among other things. This includes Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, Labour, Social Rights, Inclusion and Migration, Youth and Children and Territorial Policy. The committee conducts research and presents the proposal at a later date.
“We must not forget that the autonomous communities have exclusive competence and that there are rulings of the Constitutional Court that say that in this case the interests of the minor must always take precedence over the notion of foreigner. This is very important and that’s how we have to deal with this situation in any case,” Cancela said.
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