This Monday, the transfers of migrant minors seeking asylum who are in the Canary Islands are scheduled to begin, with the initial transfer of a group of ten young people to state resources for international protection in the Peninsula.
This was confirmed to Efe by sources from the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration and the Department of Welfare of the Government of the Canary Islands, recalling that in this way, the Executive will advance in complying with the order of the Supreme Court for the State to take charge of these young people with its resources.
The relocation of these ten minors, which was initially expected to be eight, will, however, be conditional on the availability of seats on the flights, as indicated by the Department of Welfare of the autonomous government, alluding to the indications of the central Executive, which is responsible for managing these transfers.
For the transfer, the Spanish Government must request authorization from the Canary Islands, which holds guardianship of the minors.
The Government made the request last Thursday, but it was not until Friday at 6:30 PM that it specified the departure date, the destination of each minor, or the people who will accompany them, which raised doubts in the Canary Islands administration about whether the transfers could take place today.
The transferred minors will be accompanied by personnel from collaborating entities, as well as professionals from the Ministry, already designated by the Secretary of State for Migration, according to ministerial sources.
Weekly meetings
The central Government and the archipelago hold an inter-administrative meeting every Tuesday to work on the transfer of these minor asylum seekers, and the plan is that after this first transfer, there will be two weekly transfers of between 15 and 20 young people.
The Department of Welfare has indicated that the departure of another 15 or 20 minors is also planned for the end of this week, but it will be the central Executive that determines the number by sending the list.
In addition, they have indicated that, in the event that there are no available seats for the young people to fly on the scheduled days, the state Government will have to request authorization from the Canary Islands again with the new date.
The intention is to prioritize the use of small resources initially, and as the weeks progress, more resources will be made available.
The integrity, well-being, and best interests of each minor must always prevail in the process, which implies an individual study of each case to decide the final destination.
In parallel to the transfer to the Peninsula, the Government has initiated the transfer of these minors to the Canarias 50 reception and referral center in Las Palmas on a temporary basis until their transfer, in order to alleviate the resources of the archipelago.
The high court ordered the Government on March 25 to take charge of around 1,000 unaccompanied migrant minors who had applied for asylum in the islands, in response to precautionary measures requested by the Canary Islands.
The majority of minor asylum seekers who have entered this process present a profile of being "highly vulnerable," and many of them have fled wars alone. Almost 90% are Malian, and among them are girls and adolescents, according to ministerial sources.
