The number of migrants entering Spain illegally in 2023 has almost doubled due to unprecedented arrivals in the Canary Islands in recent months, according to data released by the government on Wednesday.
According to the Interior Ministry’s annual report, 56,852 people entered Spain illegally last year, an increase of 82.1% compared to 2022.
This is the highest figure since 2018, the year in which 64,298 migrants arrived in this country, one of the main gateways to Europe together with Italy and Greece.
Last year’s jump was mainly due to the record influx recorded in the Canary Islands, which experienced its worst migration crisis in 2023.
In these islands located in the Atlantic, off the coast of north-west Africa, a total of 39,910 migrants have landed, a number that has almost tripled (+154.5%) compared to 2022 and which exceeds the previous record of 2006.
According to the European agency Frontex, the migrants arriving in the Canary Islands came mainly from Morocco and Senegal but also from Gambia and Guinea.
Despite the dangers of traveling more than 1,000 kilometers aboard fishing canoes, Senegal has faced a wave of departures to the Spanish archipelago in recent months. Its president Macky Sall ordered emergency measures in November to stem this rising flow.
According to the Spanish Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, the increase in the number of departures to the Canary Islands is explained in particular by the growing instability in the Sahel states.
– Deadly Road –
The crossing to the Canary Islands, on makeshift boats, is an extremely deadly migratory route.
According to the Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras, which relies on emergency calls from illegal immigrants at sea or their loved ones, more than 7,800 migrants died from 2018 to 2022 trying to reach these islands from the African coast.
The regional authorities of the archipelago say they are overwhelmed by this influx of migrants and in particular by the more than 4,000 unaccompanied minors they have to take care of in reception centres.
The central government has promised the Canary Islands to approve a law to distribute the reception of these minors throughout Spain, a “relevant” reform that is “in the works”, assured the minister responsible for migration, Elma Saiz, on Tuesday in these islands.
On other migration routes, the number of arrivals in Spain via the Mediterranean, from Morocco or Algeria, also increased last year by 19.1% compared to 2022, reaching 15,435 people.
– Fewer entrances to Ceuta and Melilla –
By contrast, the number of migrants entering through high fences in the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, located on Morocco’s northern coast and the EU’s only land border in Africa, fell by around 46% to 1,234.
This decline, which began in 2022, is linked to the normalization of diplomatic relations between Spain and Morocco, Madrid’s key partner in the fight against illegal immigration, made possible by the Spanish turnaround on the delicate issue of Western Sahara.
In this context of growing illegal immigration, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez welcomed at the end of December the agreement reached by EU states with a view to a review of the European migration and asylum system which, in his opinion, is “fundamental ” for his country.
According to Eurostat, Spain – which often represents only a stopover for these migrants from Africa – is, behind Germany and France, one of the three EU states to have received the highest number of asylum applications in 2022.
Although it increased last year, the number of illegal arrivals in Spain remains almost three times lower than that recorded by Italy, the first country to enter the EU, according to Frontex.
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2024-01-03 18:41:52
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