The thirteen adult crew members, out of the fourteen who arrived at the Port of Los Mármoles on June 18th on a boat from Morocco, have been transferred to the network of reception centers of the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration in the Canary Islands. This has been confirmed by sources from the Government Delegation of Spain and the Island Directorate of the Spanish Executive in Lanzarote to La Voz.
A total of 14 people arrived on the island of volcanoes three weeks ago aboard a shipowner's vessel that they had allegedly stolen from the coasts of Morocco. Upon arrival at the port of the capital of Lanzarote, the crew members were detained in the "not admitted" section of the border awaiting a decision from the Immigration Office. Only one of them, who was a minor, was transferred to a center for minors.
Meanwhile, the rest were initially denied entry into the country, having failed to meet the requirements established by the Immigration Law to be able to access Spanish territory.
Initially, the authorities ruled out treating this case as an arrival of a precarious and irregular boat, as happens with the survivors of inflatable boats and pateras, since they arrived on the island in a commercial boat. According to the Court on duty at the time of the arrival of this boat, although usually in these cases the crew members receive an expulsion order, they have been released.
Police sources report that initially the order was to transfer them to the Foreigners Internment Center (CIE) of Gran Canaria, where they would be guarded by the National Police until they were expelled from the territory.
However, after expressing their willingness to apply for asylum, they have been welcomed into the state network of resources of the Ministry of Migration, advised by lawyers from the duty shift. This time, yes, with the same treatment that is given to people who arrive in Lanzarote in inflatable boats.
Once welcomed into the public system, they were housed in the temporary reception center of Montaña Mina, in Lanzarote, and then moved to a center in Gran Canaria, according to sources from the National Police to this media. They are currently in this center on the neighboring island.
From this point, the Government Delegation reports that the files will be processed "as appropriate" and that it will be treated as it would be "with any person in their situation, always respecting the current regulations".
