The President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, was in Rabat on Tuesday where he spoke with the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, on a matter of common interest: illegal immigration. An opportunity for the Canary Islands officials to praise the good cooperation between the two countries in the area of migration.
According to statistics, 28% of migrants arriving in the Canary Islands come from Morocco, recalled Fernando Clavijo before praising the “enormous effort” and the frank collaboration of the Moroccan government to limit irregular immigration. Nasser Bourita, for his part, assured that Morocco is willing to collaborate for the return of unaccompanied minors, stressing that the “gaps in laws and [administrative] procedures” in Spain and Europe in general made this repatriation difficult.
“We discussed the possibility of collaborating with Morocco and opening a common workspace so that unaccompanied Moroccan minors in the Canary Islands can return home. The minister outlined paths that opened the way for us,” said Clavijo, who promised to faithfully report on these “hopeful” exchanges to the Spanish government to send “a clear message” to human trafficking networks.
Since last July, the Canary Islands have opened about forty reception centers for minors, bringing their number to 80. The Canary Islands authorities have sent a letter to the central government to request financial support to continue caring for minors. The expenses related to the care of minors amount to 157.1 million euros, according to the spokesperson for the regional government, Alfonso Cabello, who spoke on Monday on the subject.
During the month of September, migrant arrivals in the Canary Islands reached 5,284, including 719 unaccompanied foreign minors, after a record summer in which 6,267 migrants entered the archipelago between July and August, according to the latest data from the regional government.
