Some 7,000 Underage Immigrants Arrived in the Canary Islands in 2024
Migrants near the Canary Islands. X/ @marianpy1
January 9, 2025 Hour: 11:40 am
In this year’s first week, 2,360 migrants were rescued from 36 precarious boats, 288 of whom were minors.
In 2024, one in seven migrants rescued on the Atlantic maritime route between the African continent and Spain’s Canary Islands was a minor. More specifically, the Red Cross reported that 6,971 children and adolescents out of 46,748 survivors were rescued on this route.
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On average, 19 minors arrived each day, further exacerbating the overcrowding issues already affecting the reception network of the Canary Islands’ regional government.
Local authorities are responsible for the care of those traveling without parents or any other immediate family members who could look after them.
Between 2023 and 2024, the number of migrants attempting to reach the Canary Islands increased from 39,910 to 46,843, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
The Red Cross stated that over half of all survivors (24,146) from the Atlantic route disembarked on the island of El Hierro. This island, home to just 12,000 inhabitants, received 3,768 underage migrants in 2024.
Migration pressure on the Canary Islands continues to grow. In this year’s first week, 2,360 migrants were rescued from 36 precarious boats, 288 of whom were minors. The Canary Islands’ centers for hosting migrant minors, which are currently attending to at least 5,500 children, have long been overwhelmed.
Despite the worsening humanitarian situation, parliamentarians from the far-right VOX party announced their rejection of a proposal submitted by the Canary Islands’ government to the Spanish government. The proposal called for an extraordinary and one-time redistribution of migrant minors arriving in the Canary Islands to other autonomous communities.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE