The Canary Islands are facing mounting tensions as the regional government accuses Spain of abandoning them in the midst of a growing migrant crisis.
Fernando Clavijo, the President of the Canary Islands, announced this week that his government intends to take legal action against the Spanish state, claiming that the central government has left the islands to cope with the surge of migrants on their own.
Clavijo, expressing frustration over the situation, said that the Canary Islands have been managing the care of migrant minors who arrive on their shores, but they can no longer handle the overwhelming numbers.
“We are going to take decisions in the Council of Government,” Clavijo said on his social media. “We will establish a legal process against the State. The Canary Islands have done the job of looking after the minors arriving on the islands, but the Spanish government has left us alone.”
According to him, the islands are facing a “total overflow” in their ability to accommodate unaccompanied migrant children, with current numbers exceeding their capacity by 944 minors.
The regional president’s comments come as the Canary Islands see an unprecedented increase in the arrival of migrants. Data from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and Frontex reveals that 21,620 migrants have reached the islands so far this year, a staggering 154 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023.
Tragically, the dangerous journey across the Atlantic has led to nearly 700 people disappearing this year while attempting the crossing.
Clavijo has called for an “intense debate” with the Spanish government, emphasising that the coming months will be extremely challenging as more boats are expected to arrive. He also criticised the Spanish government for continuing to pressure non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to take in more migrants despite the reception centres already being at full capacity.
This controversy arises shortly after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez concluded a tour of Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania, where migration management was a key topic of discussion.
While Clavijo acknowledged Sánchez’s efforts, he stressed that gestures alone are not enough.
“Gestures must be accompanied by political action, or they are useless,” he remarked, pointing out that the Canary Islands are currently bearing the brunt of migration pressure for southern Europe.
In response, Ángel Víctor Torres, Spain’s Minister of Territorial Policy and former President of the Canary Islands, questioned Clavijo’s legal threats.
“I don’t know the content of this dispute, I don’t know what is going to be litigated”, he said. “If we are talking about minors, we are dealing with an autonomous competence.”
However, Clavijo contends that the law does not apply in cases where the minors are under state guardianship, which would make the central government responsible.
Clavijo has tasked the Canary Islands’ legal services with exploring all possible administrative and legal avenues to address the crisis. He hinted that the legal battle could extend into administrative, penal, or constitutional realms.
Torres, however, views Clavijo’s stance as a politically motivated attack on the Spanish government, suggesting it is a move to protect his political alliance with the People’s Party (PP).
The situation remains complicated, especially given the PP’s recent actions. In late June, the PP supported the distribution of 400 migrant minors across various autonomous communities, a move that was seen as a temporary solution.
However, the party, along with Vox and Junts, later voted against a reform of the immigration law that would have mandated the distribution of migrants when reception centers in the Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla exceed 150 percent occupancy.
