Of the 27 immigrants who arrived in Lanzarote in the last three boats and who declared themselves to be minors, nine have escaped from the center that is overseen by the Cabildo. This was made public on Radio Lanzarote – Onda Cero by the Minister of Social Welfare himself, Marciano Acuña, who has once again expressed his concern about the new care protocol for "alleged minors".
Under this protocol, more complete medical examinations are now carried out before determining whether they are really minors or not, and in the meantime they remain in the center overseen by the Cabildo for immigrants arriving under the age of 18.
"It is not a center guarded 24 hours a day by law enforcement that prevents escape. It is a center where there are educators, where there is flexibility, where one can open the door and leave," Acuña explained.
"That is the data that worries us, because in those nine escapes, there are adults out there, and who have bypassed the controls," he insisted. In addition, he has announced that they have already informed the judge and the Prosecutor's Office, "so that they at least try to reflect on this, because it can be very dangerous if it goes further."
"Extremely supportive" councils
Regarding the lack of resources to deal with the wave of boats that have arrived in recent weeks, the councilor stressed that the Cabildos of Gran Canaria and Tenerife "have been extremely supportive", and it has been possible to transfer many of the minors who arrived during this month to the centers on both islands.
"That puts us right now with 17 foreign minors in our centers, when our quota is 27," Acuña pointed out, adding that "we are in a situation that is a little higher than the rest of the islands, but reasonable."
In addition, he announced that the general director of Dependency, Childhood and Family, José Gilberto Moreno, will visit the island next Monday the 14th. "We are going to have a working day with him, so that he can see our reality," Acuña explained.
