Migrant minors, a political weapon in the crossfire between Prohens and Sánchez

PalmThe distribution of unaccompanied migrant minors has become a key weapon in the crossfire between the Spanish government and the PP in recent weeks. In this case, it was Prime Minister Marga Prohens, who emerged as the front line of the majority of the Popular Party leaders who united against Pedro Sánchez, in a new episode of tension between the regional administrations of the PP and the Spanish government. Last Friday, the Executive announced the filing of a second appeal against the measure, which aims to relieve the burden on the Canary Islands, overwhelmed by the wave of migration. Meanwhile, nearly 3,900 minors who arrived in that territory by boat are awaiting a solution to their situation. 49 would be assigned to the islands, a figure that neither the Balearic PP nor its partner, Vox, are willing to accept.

The political debate is being forced by the Canary Islands government, given the magnitude of the migration crisis on its shores. The back-and-forth between institutions has been going on for over a year, but it wasn't until August, when the Royal Decree specifying how the distribution will be carried out was finally approved, that the tension escalated. In the Canary Islands, the State's calculation sets a standard reception capacity of 406 minors. If this figure were to triple (1,218 minors received), the Government could request a declaration of a migratory contingency in the territory.

What is the current situation? According to the regional government, there are currently only 72 specific places created, although the Balearic Islands are hosting more than 680 minors due to the increase in boats arriving via Algeria last year. This is the main argument used by the Prohens government to reject the State allocation.

The PP questions the mechanism.

For this reason, the Prohens government has taken a stand. "We will use all the means permitted by the rule of law to defend the interests of the citizens of the Balearic Islands," warned First Vice President Antoni Costa. Although the Secretary of State for Children and Youth, Rubén Pérez, raised the possibility of recalculating the distribution according to the islands' capacity this week on La Ser (Spanish television channel), a head-on clash between administrations has been the general tone of the debate in recent weeks. The People's Party (PP) questions the legal mechanism of the Royal Decree, while the Ministry of Inclusion has accused the Balearic administration of not correctly providing the data on unaccompanied minors requested last December. Prohens considered that the Spanish government "threatened" her by warning the regions that they are obliged to comply with the law or "the security forces" will intervene. The executive also criticized Spanish President Pedro Sánchez for exempting the Basque Country and Catalonia from the distribution—he needed the votes of the PNV (Basque Nationalist Party) and Junts (Junts) to pass the law.

The government has also long demanded that the state recognize the Algeria route. In fact, it argued that the trend of boat arrivals to the islands is increasing, while the number in the Canary Islands is declining. According to the latest figures published by the Ministry of the Interior, 4,323 immigrants had arrived in the islands by mid-August, 1,880 more than in 2024.

The comparison outraged Canarian President Fernando Clavijo, who warned last Monday in an interview on UD Radio that the situation in the islands "is in no way comparable to that of the Canary Islands." "We are part of a state, and solidarity must be distributed among all communities," he said, responding to Prohens by saying, "It's not a question of 'I can or I can't.'" "Nobody asks us; the child arrives and they leave him at the end of the dock, and you have to care for him at all costs, because you have an obligation derived from international law," he insisted.

What is the current situation in the Canary Islands? In 2024, 46,843 immigrants arrived on their shores in small boats, a historic record, and so far in 2025, 11,575 have arrived. However, the Canary Islands route has been open since 1994 and has accumulated 200,000 arrivals, according to data from Maritime Rescue, although this figure does not include the thousands of dead and missing in the waters. "In the Canary Islands, we have extensive experience with the small boats," explains Arcadio Díaz, a magistrate from the Provincial Court of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and former judge at the Foreigners' Detention Center (CIE) in Gran Canaria. "The first one arrived on August 21, 1989, in Fuerteventura. They were two boys flying a Polisario Front flag," he recalls. Since then, he explains, "the phenomenon intensifies depending on the state of the ocean, Ramadan, and whether there is more or less pressure in Gibraltar: traffickers monitor the situation and depart from one place or another with one type of boat or another, at one price or another." However, he warns that "no matter what is done, the pressure of millions of human beings fleeing hunger, desertification, and war will continue."

War against the government delegation

Despite Clavijo's criticism, Prohens has avoided directly confronting her. In the last week, the PP (People's Party) has focused on criticizing the actions of the Spanish government representative, Alfonso Rodríguez, who throughout August has managed to expand primary care resources for immigrants in response to the peak number of 1,243 people arriving in the Balearic Islands. Furthermore, the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has set up tents in the ports of Ibiza and Palma to better care for those affected, who were sleeping outdoors. All of this amid criticism from the Unified Association of Civil Guards (AUGC), which accused Rodríguez of a lack of resources and deficiencies in the Maritime Rescue protocols for dealing with migrants. The PP—with the support of some forty local councils—has also demanded Rodríguez's resignation for the "disastrous management of the migrant crisis." The Spanish government representative, for his part, has kept a low profile in the media. However, last Wednesday he asked Prohens for "cooperation" with the Spanish government, not "confrontation."

"It's true that the situation in the Balearic Islands is congested," explains Joan Ferrer, president of the Federation of Entities for the Care of Children and Adolescents in the Balearic Islands (FEIAB). "We have been asking the General Directorate of Families, Children, Youth, and Diversity for more resources for these people for over two years," he adds. "There has been no planning to respond to the needs of the number of people arriving." Furthermore, he denounces the "political struggle between the Spanish and Balearic governments." "These people's vulnerable situation is being exploited; it's unethical."

Margalida Capellà, an expert in public international law and professor at the Mediterranean Migration Observatory, calls for "inter-institutional coordination based on loyalty and effectiveness." "The image being given is that it seems like everyone is doing a lot, but the problem isn't being resolved," he believes. And he warns that the PP's rhetoric, "although it maintains that it's about caring for these children, is anti-immigration, and from the outside it seems like they don't want them." "The administrations could have responded more quickly when they took in the Ukrainian refugees," he recalls.

Vox, missing in action

"We see a PP more radicalized than ever, stigmatizing and criminalizing immigrants," denounces PSIB MP Omar Lamin. "When there's a national challenge, they turn their backs," he says. Similarly, Ada Santana, the Canarian PSOE MP in Congress, warns that the Balearic Islands, which now rejects their distribution, could find themselves in the same situation in a few months. "Will they not ask the State for help?" she asks.

In the crossfire, Vox's lack of prominence stands out. Over the last month, it has limited itself to speaking out about the issue on social media, although it had demanded the PP reject migrant minors in exchange for the budget. "The government already defends our position," says a party source. "I suppose they want to attract a Vox voter," he adds. On the other hand, sources within the Catalan government believe that Prohens' position "represents a very broad and cross-sectional majority of citizens."