Spain reached an agreement in March 2025 to transfer 4,000 unaccompanied foreign minors from the Canary Islands to the mainland. More migrants arrived on the islands in 2024 than the reception facilities could handle. Minister Fernando Clavijo made an emergency appeal that has now been heeded.
The “migration deals” the European Union is making with more and more countries of departure are having a waterbed effect on how refugees reach Europe. And Spain is noticing that. In 2024 there was a sharp drop in people traveling via the Eastern and Southern routes, through Turkey, Tunisia and Libya, but increased pressure on the most dangerous and deadly migration route to the Canary Islands.
Last January, Fernando Clavijo, the regional minister, made an emergency appeal to Spain's central government to support them in receiving them. He indicated that the limit for housing on the islands has been reached.
In particular, the reception facility for unaccompanied minors is a major problem, according to Amnesty International. There is no consistency between the various agencies. There is a shortage of housing, legal aid and specialized social workers. This jeopardizes the chances of proper care and violates children's rights.
According to recent figures from Spain's Interior Ministry, the total number of refugees arriving in the Canary Islands by 2024 is 46,843. An increase of 17 percent compared to 2023, which was called a record year.
Among them are some 5,700 unaccompanied minors. These children living in overcrowded shelters have various health issues while having limited access to medical facilities. Also, the children there do not have access to education which harms their further social and emotional development.
The Spanish government reached an agreement last year on the distribution of migrants. But because the reception of unaccompanied minors is a task of the regional governments, nothing had yet been arranged for them. A heated debate raged for months. A number of right-wing parties, including the Popular Party and Vox, opposed it. They opposed the bill that would require other parts of Spain to house the underage refugees.
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Language: Dutch
