On Wednesday, Spain passed a law to redistribute thousands of unaccompanied underage migrants seeking asylum on the Canary Islands, that receives thousands of people annually in their quest to reach Europe – AP reported.
Overcrowded migrant receiving centers, particularly in the Canary Islands, are set to receive relief from the reform, which puts an end to a political impasse that had been going on for months between the regions and the central government of Spain.
The Canary Islands‘ top officials have been grumbling about the lack of space to house the thousands of children and teens who have arrived alone, mainly from West Africa, for months.
The national government of Spain, which has 49 million citizens, is in charge of treating adult migrants, while regional governments are in charge of unaccompanied youngsters.
The government minister responsible for Spain’s ties with its regions, Ángel Victor Torres, hailed the law as a “milestone in the defense of human rights” and the rights of minors following its approval on Tuesday.
Torres, who has experience as the head of the regional government for the Canary Islands, suggested that anyone who has reservations should go to a migrant receiving center. ” And see that in spaces for 20 people, there are 300 people, and that they are kids of 15 years, 10 years and five years.”.”
Relief on Regions that Have High Number of Migrants
The proposal would make it possible to relocate some unaccompanied minors from areas in Spain that are unable to take in any more, taking into account factors like unemployment rate, per capita income, and the population density of each region.
This would help lessen the burden on places like the Canary Islands and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa.
Over five thousand minors without parents or guardians are seeking refuge in the Canary Islands. Within mainland Spain, some four thousand migrants will be relocated.
A representative from the Junts per Catalunya party stated that the rich Catalonia region, which includes Barcelona, will only receive twenty to thirty unaccompanied adolescents, while the exact figures are still being discussed. The measure’s backing by the Catalan separatist party Junts was crucial to the minority Socialist government in Spain securing an agreement.
One of the most perilous migratory routes in the world is the Atlantic Ocean stretch that connects West Africa to the Canary Islands. For the second year in a row, about 47,000 crossing participants made it to the archipelago, smashing all previous records. The majority were Moroccan, Senegalese, and Mali nationals; a large number boarded vessels bound for Spain from the coast of Mauritania.
Statistics from Spain’s Ministry of the Interior show a decline for the year thus far. As of 15 March, a little almost 11,000 migrants have made it to Spain via sea this year, a decline of 21 percent compared to the same period last year.