The Balearic Islands will request a migration contingency to avoid taking in minors.

PalmThe Balearic Government will request a migration contingency plan to avoid taking in migrant minors. The Minister for the Presidency, Coordination of Government Action, and Local Cooperation, Antònia Maria Estarellas, stated this Tuesday afternoon, despite the fact that the islands have not yet tripled their ordinary capacity for hosting migrant minors, as established by the royal decree regulating their distribution.

If the capacity set this Tuesday by the Government for the Balearic Islands is 406 places, it should accommodate 1,218 minors, when it currently has 682 under the care of the four island councils. "We don't care whether the numbers reach us or not. We have a somewhat different situation from other autonomous communities because we have an arrival route. The numbers are not comparable to those of the Canary Islands, but if we continue like this, perhaps they will be. We will request a migration contingency plan, because we don't know if another 100 minors will arrive in three days."

They will forward the request to the Government as soon as the decree approved this Tuesday by the Council of Ministers is published, the same decree they have announced their intention to appeal to the Supreme Court.

According to him, entering into a civil service contingency, like declaring an emergency, would allow "faster actions and for the State to assume responsibility for the contingency, such as actions originating from Algeria so there are no exits, or activating Frontex."

Estarellas has questioned the formula chosen by the Government to establish, by royal decree, the ordinary reception capacity for migrant minors in each autonomous community. The Spanish government has estimated the ordinary capacity of reception systems at a ratio of 32.6 places for unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents per 100,000 inhabitants for Spain as a whole, which is 406 for the Balearic Islands.

"Is there a scientific basis?"

"Why this formula and not another? On what basis? Is it scientifically based or recognized within Europe? We don't know. We reiterate our complaint about the lack of information in all the processes carried out in this area by the state of all the competent ministries," said the Minister for the Presidency, Coordination of Government Action and Local Cooperation, Antònia Maria Esta.

In statements to the media on Tuesday afternoon, the Second Vice President of the Government announced that the Governing Council will authorize the Bar Association of the autonomous community on Friday to file what will be the second judicial appeal by the Balearic Islands against the distribution of migrant minors from the Canary Islands.

After the amendment to the Immigration Law allowing referrals was appealed to the Constitutional Court in March, the royal decree approved on July 22nd will now be reviewed.

Estarellas also reiterated the government's intention to appeal the royal decree approved this Tuesday by the Council of Ministers, although he wants to know the details before making a decision.

49 migrants

In any case, as the Balearic Islands government has clarified on several occasions, the intention of this appeal is for the Supreme Court to temporarily suspend the arrival of the 49 migrant minors that the islands will likely have to accommodate, but not the distribution to other regions of the country.

Once the distribution is activated and the number of minors arriving in each region is set, Estarellas said, the government must approve another royal decree, a ministerial order, or a resolution that applies solely to the Balearic Islands. "We will oppose this administrative act and will not stop the distribution to other autonomous communities for anything," he insisted.