Loles Lopez: “The reform of the immigration law aimed to exclude Andalusia”

The Minister of Social Inclusion, Youth, Family and Equality, Loles López, has maintained her own discourse since the beginning of the migration crisis at the national level. She defends the “solidarity and reception capacity” of Andalusia and avoids at all times reflections that link immigration to problems such as security. Her priority is to provide adequate care to immigrant boys and girls who arrive in the autonomous community and to help other territories such as Ceuta. Their criticism focuses on the lack of “coordination, information and funding” from the central government. Andalusia is the second largest host community for irregular immigrants, it has one of the largest networks of reception centers and has suffered migration crises such as that of the Canary Islands recently, in 2018. She is therefore a key voice in the political debate on immigration. .at the national level. “We are in a situation of migration crisis in Spain. There is much talk of the Canary Islands, Ceuta and now the Balearic Islands, but what is the situation in Andalusia? We agree with immigration. We have always said so. It is necessary. But with regulated and orderly immigration and with work in the countries of origin. I focus on minors: the centres in Andalusia are at 115%. In the Andalusian network, on the one hand, there are the children that the administration itself has because we remove guardianship from the parents due to abandonment or other circumstances. In addition, there are the minors who arrive by boat on the Andalusian coast, and those who come thanks to the agreements that we have to help because we have always been very supportive, such as the one we have with Ceuta. Why do we have a problem? Because of the policy carried out by the Spanish government. At present, we have 515 minors who have entered through the back door, disguised as if they were adults. They have not communicated anything to us, they have not called us… There has been no information, no coordination, no funding. They have transferred us without telling us anything, they have left them in entities that detect that they are not children and begin the bone analysis procedure of the parquet. As soon as it is proven that he is a minor, the Council assumes guardianship. – They are all transfers from the Canary Islands, right? – Yes, and they are children. It breaks the heart to see them. They are children from quinaires, with very difficult lives and who need attention. Food, clothing, health care, education, support… But it must be done in a coordinated way and not as the Spanish government has done. So we have 515 minors, and tomorrow it could increase. Some came by plane, others by boat, and there are cases where they chartered planes in Barajas, and from there they transported them by bus. — What response did the Government give when you described this situation? — It was embarrassing. Because we are also talking about children. At every sectoral conference since October, we have said that this is happening. Face to face with them and me in person. — It is not just Andalusia. — No, it is all the communities, although we take the cake. But it was sad to see how all the communities told the ministries the same thing. We all told them that this was happening and, after three hours, they replied that it would be an isolated case. We sent official letters, the last one last July, and they do not want to know anything. At the sectoral conference in July, in Tenerife. And I took all the files of the children declared minors. There, they didn’t answer me, as if I didn’t have the files. And through the media, when she was asked about Andalusia, the minister replied that she didn’t know anything about it, that she was lying. And then the Secretary of State said that I had dramatised it. – But it’s not just a question of funding, it’s also a question of coordination, isn’t it? Because these are not large sums in economic terms… Yes, of course, there is an economic problem. Our economic joints are bursting. But in addition to that, I am asking for coordination and information. It is essential, we have been asking the local authorities for this for months. We have been asking for months for them to declare an emergency on immigration, which is common sense, for you to work with the countries of origin and for them to introduce Frontex with the European Union… They have taken the President of the Canary Islands for a boss. Regarding children, information, coordination and funding, because these children eat, dress themselves, need medical care… They have just experienced a lot of drama, without a family network or friends, they do not know the language. . They need constant support. Given the saturation of the centers, why not consider increasing the places? 645 in Andalusia… There may be room. — We are working hard, and it is thanks to the civil servants and their efforts. We are juggling. It is not as simple as saying that I am going to increase the resources. You cannot open a center overnight. An emergency procedure is necessary, and time. And Spain has not even declared a state of emergency. And it also requires funding. — But are they working to increase the number of places? — No, I am not working in the sense of opening new resources. We are working on the resources we have… We cannot open a resource overnight. With the resources we already have, we are working to continue to accommodate children. We have many children aged 16-17 who, when they come of age, attend the resources for the majority (many are supervised apartments with a monitor). They prepare, study or look for work. When they move to this adult resource, they leave the centre, and it is this space that I have to accommodate more. But at this rate, the second problem we will face is the collapse of resources for adults, which will also happen to us at this rate. —Despite this, the commitment to Ceuta remains firm. Will this be fully fulfilled? —Yes, of course. We have the agreement signed with Ceuta. From there, we have already brought twelve, we said 30 and we are going to deliver. Andalusia supports us and we are going to comply with it. —Can this figure be increased? Are you looking for a formula?—We are working on a formula with the autonomous city of Ceuta. There is a proposal that we are studying legally because the intention is good, but we still do not know if it will be possible. —How important is it that Andalusia is a border territory? What does that mean? If Andalusia were declared a southern border, we would have permanent funding. When there is a distribution of children, they give us funding to the communities for one year of reception only. But if you are a border territory with constant immigration, you have permanent funding because you permanently have a use of services higher than what its population stipulates. They have a different treatment in terms of funding. —Why does Andalusia reject the reform of the immigration law? —Firstly, because it is not about changing a law, nor is immigration policy about distributing children like packages. They have not accepted any of our proposals. Neither working in the country of origin, nor with the EU… They refused to make immigration policies and only distributed children to get rid of the problem. This change in the law activates an emergency plan but only for Ceuta, Melilla and the Canary Islands. Why not for Andalusia if we are a border? — But the critical situation is now in Ceuta… — But to face it, it is not necessary to change the law, an emergency plan is enough. But if you change the law, you change it for everyone. Andalusia had a migration crisis in 2018 and if we have one next year, this change in the law will not apply to us. The law cannot be made for one community, but for all. We did not approve it because the immigration policy was only distribution and because it leaves Andalusia aside. Was this change in the law requested from the government? Yes, and others who also have a rating. If we want a law, we will make it but for everyone, and not just this change. The solution cannot be to distribute, period. Furthermore, the law did not provide for funding. When we asked how this was done, the answer was that we had to trust. How can you present this to us? If every two by three they nail it to us, the Andalusians. If they are not lying, they change their minds… — Tomorrow, the migration crisis could be concentrated in Andalusia. — We had it in the 18th century. — Are we afraid that it will happen again because of a new change in migration flows? — Yes, we are worried about inequalities. And that can happen, of course.

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