The figures made public by the Ministry of the Interior confirm what immigration experts have been warning since last June: an autumn of Senegalese canoes heading to the Canary Islands will shatter the record of irregular entries into the country. And yesterday, the first was marked. Never before, since there have been biweekly records, have so many people arrived concentrated in 15 days. From October 1 to 15, 8,561 immigrants did so. So far this year, 23,537 people have arrived in the Canary archipelago – already more than in all of 2020, second with the highest number. Therefore, the latest record, which almost no one doubts will also be broken, is that of the famous canoe crisis in 2006, when 31,678 arrivals were reached throughout the year.
The head of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, traveled to the islands yesterday, who chaired the meeting of the Immigration Coordination Authority, in which all the organizations and administrations with powers in this matter are represented. The central government remains convinced – and does not move one bit – that its recipe remains the most effective to tackle the problem: working with the countries of origin and transit of migrants on the so-called Canary Islands route. Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal, mainly. As a result of their work, the departure of 12,500 people has been stopped, according to data offered yesterday by the minister.
But all the focus has been on Senegal since the African country was plunged into a political and social crisis in June due to the arrest of the main opposition leader. An outbreak that has resulted in this migration crisis with few precedents. Police sources assure that the Senegalese authorities have reduced border control: those who ride the cayuco are mostly young people with no future who agitate the streets due to the lack of opportunities. The minister will travel to Senegal in the coming days – after having canceled the visit scheduled for yesterday – to negotiate with this country to strengthen control on its coasts. In exchange, according to ministerial sources, the Government is willing to grant financial aid – in addition to the exchange of information – to fight against human trafficking.
For now, the Interior will send a Civil Guard CN-235 plane for a month and a half to monitor the coasts of Senegal and Mauritania – in collaboration with the third police forces – in addition to another, a Beechcraft Super King Air 350i, which will be will be deployed on patrol duties from the Canary Islands. In parallel, flights to repatriate immigrants to Senegal are already being prepared. Returns that the African country, as a general rule, does not usually accept.
Despite the alarming numbers of arrivals, the images from 2020 at the Arguineguín dock (Gran Canaria) have not been repeated – for the moment – where more than 2,500 immigrants were crowded. Once the National Police takes the affiliation data, the adults are being expressly referred to other islands and the peninsula. The Ministry of Migration insists on the idea that the comprehensive reception system is sufficiently reinforced to withstand the migratory wave, after more than 20,000 refugees were welcomed after the Russian invasion.
However, yesterday the emphasis was placed again on unaccompanied foreign minors, whose guardianship corresponds to the autonomous communities. The Canarian president, Fernando Clavijo, assured that a hundred unaccompanied children and adolescents are arriving a day. The Canary Islands authorities have sheltered 3,800 minors, so Clavijo asked for a new solidarity distribution so that they can be urgently transferred to the peninsula. Last week the Ministry of Social Rights and the communities agreed to distribute 360. But the Canary Islands demand more.
Yesterday a minister aligned himself with the Canarian request. It was the head of Migrations, José Luis Escrivá, who disgraced the rest of the communities for his lack of solidarity with the Canary Islands. These types of distributions are always voluntary. “It seems to me to be truly insufficient for the challenge that the Canary Islands face and I believe that not all communities are demonstrating the level of solidarity that they should,” the acting minister reproached yesterday.
In the last week, 500 unaccompanied minors arrived. Police sources warn that more and more minors are on board in the canoes
