The Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, announced this Sunday that the Canary Islands will have a third Maritime Rescue patrol boat in the coming days, concentrating three of the five vessels of this type that Spain has, and has advanced that the Government will address new reinforcements on Tuesday in the face of the migratory rebound.
Torres visited the port of La Restinga together with the president of the Cabildo of El Hierro, Alpidio Armas, at a time when there is a continuous arrival of small boats, where he witnessed the disembarkation of immigrants and met with residents of the town, some of whom had demonstrated with banners.
"The Canary Islands are Spain, the Canary Islands are Europe, just as Ceuta is, just as Melilla is, just as Andalusia is, we have to give a joint response to the border territories," the minister stressed.
He explained that the new patrol boat was scheduled to arrive between this Sunday and Monday, but weather and sea conditions have delayed its transfer, so it is expected between Monday and Tuesday.
The minister, who has been in contact with the president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, has convened a new meeting of the Interministerial Commission on Migration for Tuesday, at 7:30 AM Canary time, to evaluate the events of the past week and adopt additional measures in the face of the pressure on El Hierro, a meeting to which the Canary Islands authorities could connect remotely.
He revealed that last Saturday he spoke with the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, to follow up on the actions on the island of El Hierro.
"We are going to update the measures and also the events of the last week," the minister anticipated, stressing that work is being done with "social and economic measures from the Ministry of Finance" with the Cabildo of El Hierro and the Government of the Canary Islands.
In the interministerial meeting held last Tuesday, the Government approved an emergency migratory allocation of 15.2 million euros to reinforce reception places and one million euros for the Red Cross to improve the care and assistance to immigrants, the minister recalled.
He pointed out that since October 15 there has been a sharp increase in arrivals and recalled that on Saturday the highest number of immigrants disembarked in the Canary Islands in a single day since records exist was registered.
According to the data provided, during this year about 27,000 immigrants have arrived in the archipelago, of which approximately 17,000 have arrived in El Hierro, figures that, despite the recent increase, remain below those registered in 2024, when more than 40,000 arrivals were exceeded.
In health matters, he has pointed out that approximately one third of the thirty hospital beds available in El Hierro are occupied by immigrants and has assured that the central government is willing to collaborate financially with the Government of the Canary Islands to reinforce assistance.
Torres has indicated that the Minister of Health, Mónica García, has held contacts with the regional minister, Esther Monzón, to address the island's needs and, regarding the possibility of installing a field hospital, has stated that the Government will support the initiative if its necessity and usefulness are proven.
He has insisted that the migratory phenomenon is cyclical and has defended that there are currently reception resources and a network of transfers to other islands and the Peninsula that were not available during the 2020 crisis.
"The planes are arriving and flying from the Canary Islands, in the case of the island of El Hierro there are also boats," he explained.
He also announced that the presence of the Spanish plane for surveillance tasks in Senegal will be extended until December and highlighted the diplomatic contacts maintained with that country, Mauritania, and Gambia to try to reduce the departure of boats.
Likewise, he has assured that Spain has requested the deployment of Frontex in African countries, a proposal that, as he pointed out, has been accepted and is pending the completion of its administrative processing.
The minister has also defended the modification of the Immigration Law to allow the relocation of unaccompanied migrant minors to other autonomous communities.
Regarding returns, he has warned that they cannot be carried out "overnight," because they require individualized files and many of the new arrivals may be eligible for international protection.
"The migratory phenomenon cannot start and end where there is sea," stated Torres, who has called for a comprehensive and supportive response between territories and has thanked the work of the emergency services and the solidarity of the people of El Hierro.
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