The Islands ask the Spanish government for the migratory contingency to stop the distribution of minors and accelerate repatriations

PalmThe Government and the island councils have called this Thursday on the Minister of Childhood and Youth, Sira Rego, to activate preventive migratory contingency to stop the distribution of migrant minors and to speed up the repatriation of minors arriving in the Balearic Islands who maintain permanent contact with their families, as reported by Europa Press. This was explained by the President of the Government, Marga Prohens, after meeting at the Consolat de Mar with the minister, the Minister of Families, Social Welfare and Care for Dependency, Sandra Fernández, and the presidents of the island councils. Prohens has valued the tone and receptivity of the minister and has emphasized that they are going "with a more accurate picture of the reality of the Balearic Islands".

The president has conveyed to Rego the "critical situation" of the minor protection system in the Islands, in a context marked by migratory pressure in recent years. Prohens has recalled that the Balearic Islands host 733 migrant minors, a figure that represents two-thirds of the total minors in care. The president also stressed that the Islands are 327 minors above the ordinary reception capacity assigned by the State to the Balearic Islands, with over-occupation levels of 1,000% in the specific places for migrant minors.

"There is no contingency on demand"

For their part, the minister assured that "there is no contingency on demand" and defended that decree 2/2025, which determines the allocations, represents "a success story that works well and was drawn up to address a dynamic phenomenon". Rego considers it "curious" that the Balearic Islands criticize the decree but, at the same time, want to avail themselves of it. The minister assured that she understands the circumstances of the Islands, but defended that objective indicators are needed to determine allocations in equal conditions. "It is not reasonable for each territory to evaluate itself and say whether it is saturated or not," she said. Furthermore, the minister underlined that the royal decree has completed 1,500 files without any incident and that the Balearic Islands have only received four children.

Regarding the acceleration of repatriations, Rego has pointed out that the Spanish government abides by international law, which prioritizes the defense of the minor's best interest, and has considered that the Executive's request responds to the PP's agreements with the far-right.

The Government and the councils have also called for the withdrawal of the latest state decree, which expands theProhens has recalled that in the last five years, more than 20,000 migrants have arrived in the Balearic Islands by boat, 7,000 of them in 2025 alone and 1,400 in the first months of 2026, an increase of 20% compared to the same period of the previous year.