The spotlight is on the Canary Islands, because the lucky islands are still in the Spanish imagination; every hour. Because the President of the Government spends his summer there. And because the total figures are overwhelming: more than 22,000 migrants this year and 5,200 unaccompanied minors.
But the most urgent “overcrowding” is in Ceuta. The arrival of irregulars has increased 173% compared to last year. And especially the centers of menas they are already at 360% of its capacity.
The President, Juan Jesus Vivaswarned this Monday morning that its centers could properly care for 132 boys and girls, compared to 475 who currently reside“The collapse of our reception capacity is clear, it is obvious, it is indisputable,” he lamented.
The transfers, which are being made in dribs and drabs, do not even cover the new arrivals, according to sources from the Autonomous City Government.
So much so that its president, the popular Juan Jesus Vivashas already called his Andalusian colleague, Juanma Morenoto propose that the “guardian” be assumed by Andalusia while the “legal custody” is maintained, legally, by the small government of the Spanish enclave in Africa.
Negotiations are open, while legal teams scrutinize the regulations to see if this can finally come to fruition. Ministry of Youth and Children average between the two, according to sources in Ceuta.
This Monday, Ceuta woke up to a summer fog that favored a maritime “assault” the likes of which had not been seen for a long time. Official reports confirm this: up until August 15, 17 arrivals by swimming from Morocco of irregular migrants had been recorded.
Several migrants swim across the border with Ceuta
But between the Civil Guard and the Moroccan Gendarmerie, they had to intercept, only from Sunday afternoon until dawn on Monday, more than 500 between adults and minors. Groups of children, by the dozen, jumped into the water, trying to surround the breakwater that separates Morocco from Ceuta, along the Tarajal border.
The new arrivals mingled with the bathers, causing a huge confusion among the security forces that moved into the region. Before proceeding with the evacuation of the beach, they prevented the people present from walking in order to identify them beforehand in order to verify who were from Ceuta and who were not.
Several bathers were unhappy with the actions of the agents, whom they accused of preventing them from freely leaving the area. In the midst of the tension experienced, a policeman was stoned and had to be hospitalized with minor injuries.
Total dependence
After Desperate letter from Vivas to Pedro Sánchezon August 15, and the call to the media “to remember” the Autonomous Communities last Friday, the Government Delegation recognized this Monday that, for a week, the arrival of undocumented immigrants has been 700 people on average per day, with a peak of up to 1,500 last Sunday.
And some NGOs warn that there is even 100,000 people, near the Moroccan borderin the hope of giving the leap.
The government of Ceuta says it is “coordinated” with the Spanish, whom it thanks for their “collaboration” in the transfers of adult migrants to the peninsula. But official sources, therefore, They try not to answer when asked about minors.
The Civil Guard takes over Tarajal beach to identify dozens of “menas” who came swimming from Morocco.
The Ceuta Administration depends entirely on the central office. Especially since the closure of the borders due to Covid, in 2020, and the effects of the political crisis with Morocco, in 2021, have not yet been “normalized”. The agreement between Moncloa and the regime Mohamed VI speaks of a “new stage” and compromises customs posts at border crossings… but what has been written has not yet come to pass in the day to day.
This dependence, together with Vivas’ character, helps ensure that media attention does not turn the emergency into a political controversy. Hence the few frictions between the Government delegate, Cristina Perezand the Government of Ceuta.
In a press appearance, Perez admitted that of those 700 newspapers from last week, made between 150 and 200 returns to Morocco. Nothing else.
The Temporary Stay Center for Immigrants (CETI) is “overcrowded,” despite almost daily transfers to the Peninsula, he said. And although he assured that the situation was under control, he acknowledged having organized “extraordinary departures” so that the center can continue to welcome arrivals.
Last Friday, the Government Delegation received reinforcements of 20 additional Civil Guard agents, according to Efe, to faceby the “serious” situation the city is experiencing. Vivas was grateful, but He demanded “immediate intervention” from the government and the LACC to ease their burden..
“We need the support of the state, of the CCAA,” Vivas shouted in his “call for help and assistance” on Monday. He appealed to “statesmanship,” “solidarity,” and “institutional loyalty.” In other words, he added, “a call that is supported by the foundations, in the pillars of our Constitution”.
Vivas acknowledged his political differences with the Sánchez government, but stressed his institutional loyalty, which “has prevailed in the management of this crisis.” In his opinion, here-form of section 35 of the Immigration Actpromoted by the Executive, must be the priority, because “the problem of immigration is not Ceuta or the Canary Islands, it is everyone’s business.”
This call coincides with the commitment made last Friday by Fernando ClavijoPresident of the Canary Islands, in Sánchez: the head of the National Executive committed himself with “firm will” to reach an agreement with the PP of Alberto Nuñez Feijoo in two weeks for the law change to become a reality in Congress.
