The Government believes it has found the solution to put an end to the serious crisis in the shelter system for unaccompanied migrant minors that the Canary Islands are suffering. The commitment, agreed with the Canary Islands government, involves urgently reforming article 35 of the Immigration Law—either through a proposed law or decree law—in order to establish a mandatory distribution between autonomous communities in moments of emergency, such as the one experienced in the archipelago in which 5,500 children and adolescents arriving by boat to the Canary Islands are protected. The intention is to distribute some 2,500 minors throughout the peninsula as quickly as possible.
It involved a commitment made between the PSOE and the Canary Islands Coalition for the investiture of Pedro Sánchez, last November. After months of work in several ministries with immigration powers, today the president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, met with the head of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, together with the ministers of Youth and Children, Sira Rego, and of Inclusion, Elma Saiz, electronically. Although there are still legal aspects to be polished, to shield the reform from possible appeals before the Constitutional Court, the bulk of the reform is advanced. It remains to be decided whether it will materialize in a bill, as proposed by the central government, or in a decree law, which the Canary Islands are betting on.
The intention of both governments is to bring all the autonomous communities back to the Sectoral Migration Conference so that a solidarity distribution is agreed between all the communities. But if not, the central government will be able to impose the distribution if the legislative reform comes to fruition. The modification would apply, first of all, in the territories that currently bear the most migratory pressure: the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla.
The idea is that the distribution is carried out where 150% of the assigned capacity is exceeded. With this figure, the Canary Islands should protect a maximum of 3,000 unaccompanied foreign minors. That is, the Canarian capacity is 2,000; so 50% more would be another 1,000 migrant children and adolescents. An amount that Clavijo considers high, but that would serve to “relieve the saturated resources” of the moment, after the unprecedented migratory crisis that occurred last year, in which all records of irregular entries on the Canary coasts were shattered.
But what happens if a distribution is made between communities, but with the new arrivals the 150% saturation level is reached again? The Canary Islands consider that new minors who arrive on its coasts should be assigned directly to another community so that they can be referred there within a maximum period of 15 days. This matter is not closed yet, so work will continue in the next sectoral meetings between ministries that will be held. However, the best forecasts suggest that the text could be approved in September, so the transfers will not begin earlier despite the fact that, according to police sources, an upcoming increase in irregular arrivals to the islands is expected.
