The irregular arrivals of immigrants do not stop descending in Spain. In the first three months of the year, the migrants who have entered the country —whether by sea or land— account for half of those who did so last year in the same period: 4,287 compared to 8,727. This downward trend is marked, to a large extent, by the decline experienced in the last year —initially coinciding with the reconciliation between Spain and Morocco— the Canary Islands route, one of the deadliest in the world, where 53 vessels have arrived during the first quarter, unlike the 123 that arrived in 2022.
According to the data published this Monday by the Ministry of the Interior, all the access routes to Spain continue to decrease except one: that of entries by sea to the peninsula and the Balearic Islands. 1,841 people have arrived in 176 boats from January 1 to March 31; while in the same months of 2022 1,591 did so in 155 boats.
In the first quarter of 2022, when diplomatic relations between Madrid and Rabat were practically dead, irregular immigration was completely out of control. The Canary Islands route, which starts from the kilometer-long Moroccan coast, reached stratospheric data, with the suspicion that the neighboring country had intentionally relaxed police surveillance to fight against mafias that traffic in human beings.
It was in the third quarter, after the Copernican turn that the Government raised regarding the question of the Sahara, when the reconciliation with Morocco was sealed. From then on, the statistics began to reverse, until the year ended with a general decline on all routes.
This decrease, according to official data from the Ministry, continues to be experienced month by month until reaching its lowest rate at the end of March, with almost 51% fewer irregular arrivals. The ministry headed by Fernando Grande-Marlaska has puffed its chest in recent months from these data that are being recorded.
Its head has defended in Brussels before the European partners the importance of good relations with countries of origin —such as Morocco— to cooperate police in the fight against criminal organizations, pending the long-awaited asylum pact that is being negotiated within the the European Union.
Irregular entries to Ceuta and Melilla have also decreased both by sea and by land, although arrivals to the autonomous cities are hardly recorded by water. The yardstick is the jumps to the border fences. In the first quarter, 199 people entered Ceuta through this route, 3.9% less than last year; and 21 in Melilla, 97.7% less than in the first quarter of 2022, when the two massive jumps over the fence were recorded that occurred when the details of the letter sent by the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, were being finalized. to King Mohamed VI asking “to build a new relationship that avoids future crises”, in exchange for the swerve on the autonomy of the Sahara.
