Spain starts sending hundreds of asylum-seeking children from Canary Islands to mainland
has begun the process of relocating hundreds of asylum-seeking children who have been living on the Canary Islands to the mainland amid a wave of
anti-immigrant
sentiment led by the far right.
Just over 1,000 children, mainly from Mali, have been at the centre of a legal wrangle between Madrid and the Canary Island government in recent months over who should be responsible for them.
They are among the many Africans who have made the dangerous crossing by boat to the Canary Islands, which has become one of the main routes from Africa to Europe.
In March, the Spanish supreme court ruled that the central government was accountable for their wellbeing. After a series of logistical delays, that order is finally being implemented.
READ MORE
'Justice is being done for these unaccompanied boys, girls and teenagers and for [the Canary Islands], which have been exclusively burdened with all the weight of this humanitarian drama,' wrote Fernando Clavijo, president of the Canary Island government, on social media, in advance of the first transfer of children to the mainland.
Ten children – nine Malians and one Senegalese – were due to leave the Canary Islands on Monday, although their exact destination was unclear. The central government plans to transfer groups of up to 40 per week in the future and find homes for them with local charity organisations.
Mr Clavijo has been demanding greater support from the central government of socialist Pedro Sánchez and from the country's other 16 regional governments to manage the situation regarding unaccompanied minors and adult migrants.
As well as the asylum seekers, there are another estimated 4,000 or so migrant children who have been living on the Canary Islands.
[
Violent clashes break out between far-right groups and migrants in Spanish town
Opens in new window
]
More than 100 migrants - 17 of them minors - wait to disembark from a "cayuco" boat that arrived last September, 2024 in the Canary Islands. Photograph: Antonio Sempere/ AFP
As minors, their legal status is more complex than that of adult arrivals and they cannot be repatriated.
Total migrant arrivals by boat to the Canary Islands this year reached 11,575 as of July 31st. Although that number is almost 50 per cent lower than the equivalent last year, as the Balearic Islands becomes an increasingly common alternative destination for migrants. Mr Clavijo has warned that local services are struggling to manage.
The process of transferring the remaining migrant children is also due to get under way in September, following congress approval earlier this year of a new mechanism to manage them. The tight vote, which saw conservatives and the far right oppose the procedure, reflected how immigration has been pushed to the centre of the Spanish political arena.
The conservative
People's Party
(PP) recently closed down a migrant centre in Pozuelo, near Madrid, where 400 minors were due to be taken in. The minister for territorial policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, accused the PP of putting up 'obstacles to the taking in of minors, those who are black'.
Last month, the far-right
Vox party
called for the deportation of millions of migrants 'who have not adapted to our customs'. The party's leader, Santiago Abascal, said unaccompanied migrant minors should be among the deportees.
A broader debate about tolerance of cultures and religions has arisen more recently, after the PP – at the instigation of Vox – introduced in the southern town of Jumilla a norm preventing religious festivals from being celebrated in local sports halls.
The move was seen as being aimed specifically at the town's Muslim community, which had been holding two annual events in a local sports venue. The PP's mayor of Jumilla, Seve González, said it was important to 'defend our identity and protect the [Catholic] values and religious expressions of our country'.
The left-wing central government and the country's Catholic Church have criticised the initiative, with the latter describing it as 'a discrimination which cannot be allowed in democratic society'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Irish Times
New customers to receive cash instead of energy credits in household benefit scheme
A row has broken out between the Government and the representative body for the electricity industry and gas retail sector over the former's decision to replace energy credits with cash, for new customers, in the Household Benefits Package . From September, new applicants to the scheme will no longer be able to avail of a €35 monthly credit towards their electricity or gas bill, but will instead receive the payment into a nominated bank or post office account. Existing customers can continue to receive the credit unless they seek to change supplier. The Government said the move ensures no provider has 'a perceived advantage over competitors' in the market. However, the Electricity Association of Ireland (EAI) said the credit should be made available to customers of more companies, rather than scrapping it. [ Ending of electricity credits will bite hard this winter Opens in new window ] All people over the age of 70 can apply for the benefits package, while younger people may also be eligible but additional rules apply . Under the scheme, people have the option to put a credit towards their electricity or gas bill, but only if they are customers of Electric Ireland, Bord Gáis Energy or Flogas. READ MORE There are 12 electricity and seven gas suppliers in the domestic market. The Department of Social Protection confirmed all new applicants to the Household Benefits Package will receive a monetary payment towards their energy bill, rather than a credit. 'The decision to remove the credit option for new customers has been taken following an examination of customer behaviour and trends over several years,' said a spokeswoman. 'An increasing number of new customers are opting for the cash option even where the credit option is available. Any existing customers using the credit facility at present can maintain that method of payment.' The spokeswoman said the removal of the credit option for new customers also ensures 'no supplier would have a perceived advantage over competitors in the domestic energy market'. EAI chief executive Dara Lynott has accused the Government of 'going for the easier option' instead of implementing targeted measures that would better help people enduring energy poverty. 'If you're intent on targeting customers who need help with energy, and you want to be guaranteed that it gets to the right people, then credits are the way to go,' said Mr Lynott. He said many people who receive the cash will have 'other pressing bills' and may opt not to put the money towards their energy costs. 'They may need petrol for the car and the house still goes cold – so you still have people in energy poverty, even after you've given cash.' Mr Lynott said targeted, long-term measures need to be implemented to help people, rather than universal payments. Figures released to Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan in late July showed that 301,000 households are now in arrears on their electricity bills. [ Households unlikely to receive energy credits and other once-off payments next winter Opens in new window ] From April 2022 until February 2025, households received nine electricity credits worth €1,500 – costing almost €3 billion. However, the Government has ruled out such credits in the forthcoming budget, instead saying it will implement other measures to support households. A Department of Energy spokesperson said the Government is 'keenly aware that energy has been a big driver of costs across the economy, and that price rises over the past number of years impacted almost all householders and businesses'. The Government has established a National Energy Affordability Taskforce to 'identify, assess and implement measures that will enhance energy affordability for households and businesses, while delivering key renewable commitments and protecting security of supply and economic stability'.
Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Irish Times
Student fees: Minister gets barrage of complaints after suggesting €1,000 cut may not happen
More than 120 complaints were sent to Minister for Higher Education James Lawless after he signalled that cuts to third level fees seen in recent budgets may not happen this year. The Fianna Fáil politician suggested in a radio interview that a €1,000 cut to the €3,000 fee might not be repeated in Budget 2026 due to once-off cost of living measures being dropped due to to economic uncertainty. There was a public backlash after his remarks as well as division in the Coalition, with Fine Gael members angry about the controversy the issue generated for the Government. Records released by the Department of Further and Higher Education in response to a Freedom of Information request show some 125 complaints were sent on to Mr Lawless between June 29th and July 9th. READ MORE Of these, 35 were sent to Fine Gael politicians before they were forwarded to Mr Lawless. Thirty-three complaints were sent on to the Minister by the office of Tánaiste Simon Harris , a former minister for higher education. A further 23 complaints were sent on to Mr Lawless after they were received by Fianna Fáil politicians. During an interview on RTÉ radio on June 29th, Mr Lawless was asked about cuts in student fees. He replied: 'All of us in any walk of life play the hands we're dealt. If I don't have a cost of living package, I can't do those kind of measures that were done last year.' He pointed out other supports available and said he did 'absolutely intend to wind down the student contribution fee over the lifetime of the Government'. [ Third level fees row looks set to rumble on for a while Opens in new window ] More than 120 complaints were sent to Minister for Higher Education James Lawless following the comments. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw/ The Irish Times Many of the parents and students who complained wrote directly to Mr Lawless. One parent asked for the fee to be kept at €2,000. 'I do strongly feel that we are the squeezed middle in society, that work hard, pay [our] contributions and get on with things. But we are far from financially secure.' A student working to fund their education wrote that they were 'quite outraged' and that a return to higher fees 'may mean that I will not be able to enter my third year'. Student nurses were among those who sent some co-ordinated complaints. Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha wrote that the 'mooted increase will have a detrimental impact on student nurses and midwives'. One of the complaints sent on to Mr Lawless by Mr Harris's office was from a parent with two children in third level education. 'Dear Mr Harris, I would like to tell you about my home tonight. My 21-year-old daughter started crying and apologised for the cost to us to send her to college,' they wrote. A complaint sent on to Mr Lawless from Taoiseach Micheál Martin's office was from a parent who said fee reductions of recent years had 'helped enormously to reduce the financial burden on our family'. Of the possible return to €3,000 fees, they said: 'I think Fianna Fáil has taken its eye off the ball.' A spokesman for Mr Lawless said the Minister was 'acutely aware of the financial pressures facing students and families' and he was 'currently reviewing pre-budget submissions'. He said Mr Lawless will enter budget negotiations 'seeking the strongest possible package of student supports, with a particular focus on those most in need, while also securing sustainable, permanent reforms rather than one-year interventions'. He also said Mr Lawless would be 'fighting hard for measures that reduce the cost of education'. The spokesman added that the Minister extended thanks to correspondents and he has offered to review 'individual cases to understand why they were not already availing of supports given that the current income threshold is at a historic high of €115,000. This means the majority of families in the State are now eligible for support.' A spokeswoman for the Taoiseach said: 'Government will be examining ways to support those in third level education in the upcoming budget. Matters related to the Budget will be negotiated over the coming weeks.'
Irish Times
7 hours ago
- Irish Times
Crash, part two: austerity bites and Cowen's Morning Ireland humiliation
In part two of a three-part series on Brian Cowen's ill-fated 2008-2011 government, Pat Leahy and Hugh Linehan continue the story. After the fateful 2008 decision to bail out Ireland's banks, Cowen and his Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan spent the next year struggling to shore up Ireland's worsening finances. Throughout 2009 and 2010 the mood in the country darkened as recession bit. Spending cuts and tax rises were introduced in a series of hair-shirt budgets. As a result, confidence in the government was already on the floor when Cowen made an infamous appearance on Morning Ireland in September 2009. But what did Cowen actually say in the interview, and what impact did it have?
