Raquel Guasch: "To say that immigrants are invading us is false"

PalmaRaquel Guasch Ferrer has been the State's island director in Ibiza and Formentera since 2024. She is the first person from Formentera to hold the position. Her term will be marked by the management of the migration route from North Africa, which has the Pityusic Islands, and especially Formentera, as a preferred point of arrival, and which has caused recurrent political disputes between administrations. Since Pedro Sánchez revealed in Congress (last September 3rd) that there had been a “routine report” on “the Balearic Islands and the Peninsula” that warned of a high probability of migrant arrivals, the political storm has not ceased in the Islands. The State has been accused from Ibiza, Formentera and Palma of not informing about this hypothetical massive arrival of small boats. In this interview, we try to find out what is true, and what is false, in the controversy, and how the State handles the arrival of thousands of migrants each year to the Balearic Islands.

What specific reports does the Government Delegation of Spain in the Balearic Islands have regarding a possible massive arrival of small boats?

— What I want to say is that it is irresponsible for some political representatives, in their management of government, to use words that do not conform to reality.

Which words?

— ‘Invasion’. Because, if we go to the dictionary, the meaning is very clear. And what we have in the Balearic Islands is not an invasion; it is an arrival of people from the African continent, who come seeking a better life. This is the reality. And saying that we are being invaded, saying that you have nightmares, making an association of ideas between immigration and insecurity, what it creates is unnecessary social alarm. I believe that, for the president of the Council of Ibiza, who says that he sleeps poorly thinking about whether hundreds of boats are arriving, there are things that should keep him up more: the issue of housing, tourist overcrowding, the collapse on the roads...

But you have not answered me whether there is any information that points to a massive arrival of small boats, as Pedro Sánchez's statements in Congress have been interpreted –intentionally or not–.

— At no point did Pedro Sánchez say that an invasion or massive arrival of boats was expected in the Balearic Islands; he said that police reports assessed that there could be a high arrival of migrants by sea. This happens to us every time there is good weather. If these people who talk so lightly about an invasion were managing this issue, they would know that when a window of calm opens at sea, we must be prepared. It is a job that the State's security forces and bodies do every day.

Did the president of the government put his foot in it?

— No, by no means. It is just that the report surely stated that, in the Balearic Islands, this possibility existed, just as it was possible on the coasts of Andalusia. These are routine reports, which help us to anticipate the response; the humanitarian response, above all.

Even if it is not your area, do you think that the State government has reacted correctly to the situation in Ceuta?

— I believe that it has been reacted to as it could have been reacted to....

— I do not have much more to say. The entire response from the Spanish government is always from a place of tremendous responsibility. This is something I would like to come out in the interview: that the answers given by the Spanish government are from absolute responsibility as a government action.

We return to the Balearic Islands. For some time now, the Spanish government has accepted that this migratory route from North Africa exists. But it must be admitted that it has taken quite a long time to acknowledge the problem.

— There may be that perception, but I don't know if that is as important as responding to it. Before, we were used to the occasional boat arriving, and, starting in 2024, this flow has been increasing. And what has the State done? Respond to it. When there are PP officials who say that the Spanish government is neglecting the problem, I would like them to explain to me what that means. It seems to me that it is more to attack the progressive government of Spain. Maritime Rescue depends on the State, the Red Cross has an agreement with the State, there is the Police, the Civil Guard...; it is the State that is responding to it with all available means. We cannot fail to tell the truth. Another thing is the management of unaccompanied minors, which are an autonomous competence, in the case of the Balearic Islands delegated to the councils. When the Council of Formentera has been saying for two years that they wanted to renounce this competence, what is the government of Oscar Portas telling us? That Formentera does not have enough maturity to assume the competencies that are delegated to it?

The recurring complaint, both from Ibiza and Formentera, is the high cost of maintaining these minors.

— Yes, and the government of Spain has provided almost eight million euros extra in 2025 to the Balearic Islands just for the management of unaccompanied migrant minors. Who is neglecting this? Let the Balearic Government explain how it has distributed this money. I want to think that they have given it to the administrations that needed it the most.

What is happening with the radar that was supposed to be installed in Formentera, to monitor, among other things, the arrival of migrant boats? It had been said that it would be ready for the summer.

— The installation is imminent. It has taken longer than we would have liked. We have had the tender done since the month of April, but the processes are long and guarantee-focused.

This radar is supposed to allow for the detection of small boats long before they arrive.

— Above all, it will allow acting as soon as possible to save lives. What this radar will not allow—and I will use irony—is to take out the Spanish Navy ships to stop the two hundred small boats that, according to some, will arrive at any moment.

It is a fact that immigration occupies more and more space in public and political conversation. What do you think about it?

— I am deeply concerned about the dehumanization of people who arrive in small boats. They are women, men, and children, with stories and burdens that weigh very heavily. And the comments you hear and read, the news...; you see a bit of the human quality behind what is being said. I am concerned about what they reveal about the society we live in: we are capable of receiving and managing millions of tourists, but everything is a problem when ten minors arrive and we don't know where to put them. I am also concerned because many hate messages are being generated. And with this I want to be very clear: they are directly racist messages. And it is funny that there was a kind of exaltation of solidarity with Ceuta in many municipalities; if only each of these municipalities in Spain welcomed one migrant minor, perhaps the problem would be solved. Solidarity and support are demonstrated with deeds, actions, and responsibility, not by raising flags or making proclamations. I would ask for real solidarity from the administrations. I think we can say that many of us come from people who had also been migrants at some point. My grandfather also migrated to Cuba. Now we live in a total welfare society, but we have forgotten very quickly where we come from.

I miss self-criticism from the left. This atmosphere of hatred that you describe has also been growing during the left-wing government in Spain. Something must not have been done entirely right.

— Yes, we probably have to engage in self-criticism, I will not deny it.

The left's strategy of scaring voters with the arrival of the far right does not seem to have worked.

— No, the far right is already here. We will do the self-criticism. But, for me, the migratory issue cannot be a reason to win or lose votes; if there are parties that want to use migrants as a political tool, then let them do it; they will know where their ethics and their morals lead them. My ethics see people whom we must help, whom we must save, and that is why we are here. This is the great difference, I believe, between progressivism and the rest of the forces. If people do not vote for us because of this, then let them not vote for us; but I believe that we must look above all else to the people.