Given the unprecedented numbers that the month of October is leaving on the Canary Islands migratory route, in which more than 13,000 people have arrived in cayucos, the Government has accelerated the transfer of immigrants to the peninsula to decongest the first reception centers in the archipelago.
A mechanism that refers migrants according to their vulnerability to the available places in the entire humanitarian care network and that, according to what the Government delegate in the Canary Islands, Anselmo Pestana, stated a few days ago, "is working reasonably well", despite the fact that the islands are experiencing an unprecedented peak since the cayucos crisis of 2006.
The Government does not provide either the figures or the destination of these transfers, which have generated discomfort in town councils and communities governed by the PP, which accuse the Executive of lack of coordination and of not informing them sufficiently in advance of the referrals.
The effort is being especially intense in El Hierro, an island of 11,000 inhabitants where more than 8,600 immigrants have arrived this year, according to the counts provided each day by the different emergency services.
Transfers from La Restinga dock to Tenerife or Gran Canaria are being carried out on the same day. And within a few days, immigrants are being transferred from the archipelago to the peninsula. Last Tuesday, for example, the National Police was in charge of escorting the transfer of more than 300 migrants by plane from the Canary Islands to Madrid, from where they were taken on buses to Almería.
Foreigners of legal age in an irregular situation. The reception of minors who arrive alone is the responsibility of the autonomous community and currently the Canarian Government protects around 4,400 migrant children, according to the latest data provided this Wednesday by the Minister of Social Welfare, Equality, Youth, Children and Families , Candelaria Delgado.
According to the usual protocol, after the first 72 hours, while their affiliation is completed, Migrations identifies those who are in a vulnerable situation and notifies the Interior so that their transfer to a more appropriate resource can be authorized. However, given the intense arrival of cayucos to the Canary Islands, several of these procedures are now being carried out in the centers to which they are transferred.
In the case of Almería, the provincial coordinator of the Red Cross, Francisco Vicente, explained that throughout this week they hope to have individual interviews with all those transferred to find out their situation "and support them and put them in contact with their support network and family members they have in Spain".
The Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, responsible for transferring, housing and assisting these migrants, is following the "usual procedure" of referring them according to their vulnerability to the places available throughout the network, which may be the Administration's own centers. managed by NGOs or spaces enabled for this purpose.
240 migrants transferred to the Malaga municipality of Torrox, for example, have been housed in the Urban Beach hotel, currently closed to the public after the end of the summer season, while 150 transferred to Medina del Campo (Valladolid) are installed in the spa of the Palacio de las Salinas, which is closed for renovation.
Sources from the department headed by José Luis Escrivá, highlight that in many cases they are specific, very short stays, while the final destination of these people is decided. If they do not meet the conditions to be returned to their countries, they can register in the care network and the Ministry determines their distribution and pays for their reception in centers.
Migrations is looking for locations throughout the peninsula to guarantee a dignified reception for immigrants. "Many spaces are being looked at" both public and private to know what availability exists and "to be prepared," say sources from this department who insist that at this time there are no problems.
At the moment they have confirmed that Defense has given them two pieces of land in the Community of Madrid: a barracks in the Carabanchel district of the capital, with 450 expandable places, and another in the municipality of Alcalá de Henares.
Some city councils, such as Cartagena, where there is already a Temporary Care Center for Foreigners (CATE), have opposed the installation of a new center after it became public that in recent weeks Migration technicians have visited Defense facilities in the area looking for spaces.
Immigrants are not obliged to remain in the centers and can move freely throughout the national territory. Many decide to use their own family support networks and sometimes their final destination is another European country.
