The Secretariat of State for Migration says it has already accepted the requests of the Supreme Court, which in its latest ruling in October granted until this Friday for the Government to take care of the approximately 600 foreign minors who were in the Canary Islands and had requested international protection. The Government was forced to adapt numerous structures in record time to accommodate these children, whose protection has always fallen to the autonomous communities in which they arrived. The Canary Islands, overwhelmed by boat arrivals, brought the situation of those seeking international protection to the Supreme Court and the High Court ruled that, whether they are adults or minors, asylum should be paid for by the Government.
A note from the Secretariat for Migration reports that a total of 817 places have been opened where boys and girls who come from “particularly vulnerable” situations have been relocated. To date, they specify, there is room for another hundred people, who will arrive soon as soon as the ships arrive on the coasts of the Canary Islands and the community government “carries out the relevant transfers and procedures”.
The Ministry of Migration and the Administration of the Canary Islands have accumulated misunderstandings that have delayed the transfer of these boys, but now the situation seems to be going well: “Today we put an end to a process, but we continue with the collaborative work between administrations to, until there is a firm decision from the Supreme Court, continue to transfer, where appropriate, other boys and girls seeking international protection in our system”, states the Secretary of Migration, Pilar Cancela, in the note released. And he adds: “We cannot forget that the Canary Islands Government continues to be the guardian of minors and, therefore, collaboration is essential to guarantee their full reception and the needs of each of the boys and girls.”
The Secretariat did not want to detail how many children were transferred to the Peninsula or how many remain in the Canary Islands. He limited himself to specifying that “in addition to opening numerous centers in different locations on the peninsula”, they already have “two resources” in the islands with “a permanence character linked to the individualized needs of each minor”, where the integration of the children in the Canary Islands and, if appropriate, their transition to adult life will also be assessed. The Canarias 50 state centre, traditionally for adults, has also been adapted to accommodate minors who are assessed before their transfer.
The Supreme Court’s decision, which had the merit of alleviating the complicated situation of the Canary Islands through asylum, has however generated tensions in the islands in recent weeks. Many teenagers received news overnight that they would be transferred to Canarias 50 to be assessed and ultimately relocated to the peninsula, which sparked criticism from educators, health workers and families who provide them with humanitarian cover. Children who had been in an educational center for several years were suddenly forced to abandon it and leave without this being their wish. They asked for international protection, but not to be removed from their cities where they already had a certain stability and roots, explain the foreign lawyers. But the Government has not been able to do much in this last period, as it has been forced to host minors for whom it did not have adequate infrastructure. It is the communities that usually provide these centres. After the first orders of the Supreme Court, 40 million euros were allocated for this mission, whose emergency declaration has now been extended until March 31, 2026 and another item of 300,000 euros has been added. It’s not just about infrastructure, but about adequate food and housing.
The opacity of the data offered regarding where these children are relocated is largely due to the neighborhood protests that arise when a space for this is reported to be open. These teenagers come from countries at war, some having suffered sexual violence or labor slavery, others, and discretion prevents them from adding to all this the angry discontent of those who do not want to have them at their side.
