The Spanish government representative denies that the Balearic Islands are in a "migration emergency" like the Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla.

PalmThe Spanish government delegate in the Balearic Islands, Alfonso Rodríguez, stated this Wednesday that the islands are not in a situation of migration contingency, like the Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla, although he believes they could be in the future and that this category could be requested by the government at the state level. In statements to reporters, Rodríguez pointed out that the Balearic government, with its intention to request a migration contingency, proposes solutions "thinking only about the Balearic Islands" and not about the scale of a problem that must be addressed at the state level, with a "coordinated, sensitive, dignified, and humanitarian response as a country."

A migration contingency refers to when a situation of illegal migrant arrivals is so extraordinary and exceptional that it exceeds the ordinary reception capacity of a territory, requiring special measures to address large-scale migratory flows, as in the case of unaccompanied minors. Rodríguez stated that the government must "understand" that the solution to the migration crisis in the islands must be addressed through "cooperation" with the Spanish government and not through "confrontation." "What Ms. Prohens must do is choose whether she wants to manage this migration crisis through coordination with the Spanish government or continue down the path of her pacts with the far-right (Vox), in which immigration is a weapon," he stated regarding the regional president. Rodríguez Badal urged the Balearic government to participate in the sectoral migration conferences convened by the state government, which bring together all the regions.

"Real" data

The delegate asserted that, to date, the government has not invited him to any meeting to discuss this crisis and has asked him to send Madrid the "real" data on the number of unaccompanied migrant minors it is currently hosting, while also asking why it has not released them. "We must be serious, coordinate, and join forces," Rodríguez insisted, questioning the government's claim that the island councils' migrant minor reception centers are "1,000%" overcrowded. Rodríguez criticized the fact that "one cannot say happily," as Prohens asserts, that the Balearic Islands are the largest gateway for sea immigration to Europe, when the situation in the Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla is "tremendous," according to the Efe news agency.

In his opinion, Pedro Sánchez's government "understands" the reality of the islands and will decide whether, and how many, minors will ultimately be sent to the Balearic Islands, or whether in the future they will be granted "migratory contingency" status, as is already the case in the Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla.

The government delegate explained that prefabricated modules will be contracted to be installed in the ports of Palma, Ibiza, and Formentera to provide "dignified" care for migrants during the first 48 hours. He asserted that, in some cases, these people have been traveling through Africa for up to a year or a year and a half before reaching the archipelago.