Majorca is pushing back against migrant distribution plans from the Spanish central government as the influx of asylum seekers continues to put a strain on the island. Amid the steep rise in arrivals, the regional government is opposing a proposal to accept two unaccompanied migrant minors. According to the Vice President Antoni Costa, the Canary islands are now home to more than 700 migrant children, many of whom are facing serious difficulties.
Mr Costa announced that the Balearic government will formally oppose the transfer of the migrants and prevent their arrival, with plans to appeal to the courts if the request is rejected. The Vice President also confirmed that 18 more unaccompanied migrant minors arrived in Majorca by boat this week. On Monday, a wooden boat carrying a staggering 198 migrants was detected by authorities in Spain off the coast of El Hierro.
The migrants onboard the boat are said to be from Gambia, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Guinea, and Senegal, according to information provided to emergency services.
The people onboard confirmed that they had departed from Gambia seven days earlier.
This comes after 50 migrants were found near the shores of Lanzarote on Sunday, and a further fifty were rescued near Majorca on the same day. The vessel near to the island of El Hierro was escorted to safety by the maritime rescue service.
The boat detected in Lanzarote, carrying 49 men and one woman, had been left adrift after their motor ran out of fuel, leading to the maritime rescue service being dispatched.
On the same weekend, Spanish authorities also intercepted another migrant boat carrying 15 people near Majorca.
The total number of migrants who have arrived illegally to the Balearic islands this year so far now totals 5,480, travelling in 295 boats.
This figure is nearly as high as the total number of arrivals to the archipelago in 2024, which was 5,882, according to the Ministry of the Interior’s Annual National Security Report.
The local government has now called for a reassessment of national redistribution policies and a clearer plan to manage unaccompanied minors arriving by sea.
