Sharp spike in migrant arrivals to Spain's Balearic islands raises fears archipelago could be new gateway into Europe
In the space of three days this week, 639 migrants reached the islands - comprising Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera - aboard 38 small boats. So far this year, 4,500 migrants have arrived there, according to the Spanish government.
The startling figures mark a 170 per cent jump on the same period in 2024. This is also more than 500 per cent higher than in 2023.
Amid the looming migration crisis, authorities in the islands say they have been left to cope with the issue alone, with limited support from the government.
The majority of the boats are believed to have left from Algeria, signalling that the central Mediterranean route is gathering pace while the once-busy flow from Mauritania to the Canary Islands has collapsed.
'Where is the government of (Pedro) Sanchez?' Balearic regional leader Marga Prohens posted on X on Wednesday, referring to Spain 's prime minister. She called for increased law enforcement resources and cooperation with Algeria.
Madrid said last month it would improve the Balearics' capacity to absorb arrivals.
Alfonso Rodríguez, Madrid's regional representative in the Balearics, shot back that calm seas and criminal gangs exploiting security gaps were behind the rise.
He said it was part of a wider Mediterranean pattern.
Arrivals in the Canaries, meanwhile, have fallen by 46% in January-July of this year, largely thanks to tightened controls by Mauritania.
Eighty per cent of arrivals to Spain in the first quarter of last year were headed to the Canary Islands, making the journey the most heavily used migration route to Europe this year.
Vicent Mari, President of the Council of Ibiza, last year called for a crackdown on illegal migration, telling a Town Hall that the 'situation requires care services that are neither prepared nor sized to deal with this issue'.
'We need the provision of the necessary surveillance and resources to prevent and control this massive arrival,' he told the audience.
Bárbara González del Río, Migration Specialist at Save the Children Spain, warned that officials are anticipating a 'significant increase in crossings during the summer months'.
'As long as there is a need in the countries of origin, people will continue to move, and the migratory flow towards Europe will continue to exist,' she said, according to the newspaper.
Migrants reaching the islands tend to leave Algeria's coastline, where patrols are lighter. The majority are Somalians who aim to escape conflict and food shortages.
Among those who have arrived is a 20-year-old South Sudanese called Konestory, who paid $2,000 and endured 46 hours of travelling time to get to the islands.
Although he told Reuters the boat faced adversities such as food shortages, getting lost, and 'a lot of waves', he was 'happy' to have arrived on the islands.
Last month, the government announced plans to boost the Balearics' capacity to process new arrivals.
Majorca media says new arrivals are often left to sit in public parks for hours before they are taken to mainland Spain
Yet local media in Mallorca reports that dozens of new arrivals have been left sitting in public parks for hours due to a lack of shelters, before being put on ferries to mainland Spain.
In June, a murder investigation was launched after several migrants were found in Mallorca with their hands and feet bound. They are believed to have been attempting the difficult journey from North Africa to Europe.
The huge increase has worsened an existing political clash between Prohens and the Sánchez government over the redistribution of unaccompanied child migrants who arrive in the Canaries.
Prohens has been a staunch advocate for hardline immigration policies, saying last year that there was a 'total lack of control' when it comes to small boat arrivals.
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