SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, September 13 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Minister of Social Welfare of the Government of the Canary Islands, Candelaria Delgado, requested this Wednesday that more transfers of migrant minors be carried out to other autonomous communities and that the Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030 convene another sectoral conference to review the criteria.
In an appearance before the Plenary Session of Parliament, he said that there have only been 354 transfers from the islands – the archipelago has more than 2,500 under guardianship -, with only 46 since the last meeting.
Delgado has commented that the Canary Islands make a “great effort” to care for minors with dignity and with the difficulty that the 50 million committed by the ministry are made via subsidy, hence he claims the funds granted to other communities if they have not undertaken transfers.
He has insisted that we must be “prepared” for the rebound in arrivals in September and October because the ‘calms’ in the ocean and the political situation in the Sahel and Senegal are a “breeding ground” to activate the departure. of the boats.
Along these lines, he has pointed out that the Canary Islands route “is open” and with “uncertain development”, and immigration has become an “essential” issue on the ‘Canary Islands agenda’ because it tests the response and reception capacity. on the islands, since some 175,000 people have arrived since 1994.
While waiting to hold meetings with the Ministers of Defense and Social Rights, Margarita Robles and Ione Belarra, respectively, he has pointed out that the Minister of Migration, José Luis Escrivá, is “aware” of the increase in migratory flows and that is why he It has planned to prepare new spaces in El Hierro and Lanzarote and expansions in Tenerife and Gran Canaria, with a “flexible” structure adapted to the circumstances.
In addition, the autonomous community itself is working on a contingency model for minors, opening more centers, especially on the island of El Hierro, the most affected this summer.
HAVE FIRST HAND INFORMATION
The counselor has insisted that the Canary Islands want to be part of the security device “and have first-hand information” and has indicated that this Wednesday afternoon she will present the bases of the Canary Islands Immigration Plan that establishes, among other things, improving coordination capacity, develop annual operational programs, establish specific protocols for crisis cases, guarantee compliance with human rights or improve awareness and integration with the resident population.
The spokesperson for NC-BC, Luis Campos, has commented that so far this year the Canary Islands have received the arrival of some 14,000 migrants in a context of a “new model” in which inflatable boats appear next to canoes and boats, but “most vulnerable”, and the places of departure are also expanded from Morocco and Mauritania to Senegal and Gambia.
He has said that in 2023 alone, migrants come from up to 35 different nationalities, reflecting the “complexity” of the migratory movement in Africa, aggravated by wars, political instability and natural disasters.
He has asked not to objectify minors with the name “menas”, he has offered support to the Canary Islands Government to demand that the central Government and the EU fulfill their responsibilities, although he has said that it is “unfair” to say that the State “does not has done nothing.”
Campos has admitted that the state response is “insufficient” but it is “much better” than that of two and a half years ago and has insisted that they are not going to allow the islands to become “open prisons.”
THERE WARNS THAT IN THE IRON THEY ARE “OVERFLOWED”
Raúl Acosta (AHI) has indicated that in El Hierro there is no capacity to absorb the strong arrival of migrants since the summer began, with “overwhelmed” services, and he understands that Spain and Europe “have to do more” with a neighborhood policy “true” and without “colonialist” overtones.
He has demanded “legal” immigration through training plans in countries of origin to cover the demand for work in deficient labor sectors so that “both parties benefit.”
Jesús Ramos (ASG) has indicated that it is “complex” for the Canarian Government to address the migratory drama because it only has powers over minors, regretting that the solidarity of the rest of the autonomous communities has been “minimal.” “Perhaps we should ask the State to make it legal,” he commented.
Paula Jover (Vox) has commented that immigration has a “friendly face”, the one that is orderly and with the will of the two countries involved, and the irregular one, which gives “headaches” and is a “human drama” due to of the “call effect” of certain policies.
He has said that it is also a “problem” to maintain services on the islands and has wondered if there are going to be “preventive measures” to try to avoid arrivals and if any protocol is going to be articulated in case of bad behavior or security problems. integration.
Jover was invited to qualify her opinion by the vice president of the Chamber, Ana Oramas, by saying that 45% of sexist murders in Spain are committed by foreigners, so she asked to remove “the blindfold” and put aside the “taboos” – Vox spokesperson Nicasio Galván complained that the deputy had been interrupted from the Table -.
THE PP CHARGES AGAINST THE “ABANDONMENT” OF THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT
The representative of the Popular Group Rosa Viera has indicated that the arrival figures “are very hard”, a “humanitarian crisis” that leaves many deaths at sea, which has been aggravated by the “abandonment” of the central Government, something that has highlighted the State Attorney General’s Office, which has demanded more resources and has highlighted the poor conditions of the centers in Fuerteventura and Lanzarote.
It has also disgraced the socialists who have not apologized for the lack of foresight to care for migrants and the effects of the ‘only yes means yes’ law.
Jana González, from the Nationalist Group, has commented that the migrants come “looking for a better life” and does not understand that the central government comes to ministers to the islands and “looks the other way” after four years of “lack of coordination.”
He stressed that “it is not enough” to simply increase reception resources if they are oriented towards the European policy of the Canary Islands being a “retention space.”
Rosa Bella Cabrera (PSOE) has indicated that the humanitarian crisis of the last legislature coincided with the pandemic and ‘Noah’s arks’ were built and spaces for minors were created, “all paid for by the State”, which demonstrates the “commitment” of the socialist Government, which is also now taking “emergency decisions”, such as chartering ships to El Hierro.
The deputy has also asked the Executive to “pick up the phone” and ask for collaboration from other autonomous communities where the PP governs to take charge of transfers of migrant minors from the islands.
