The spokesperson for the Canarian Coalition in the Congress of Deputies, Cristina Valido, demanded this Tuesday that the Spanish Government "act with the means within its competence" to process a decree-law with the reform of the Immigration Law necessary to carry out the referral of unaccompanied migrant minors from the Canary Islands. Valido also criticized that PSOE and PP prefer to "exchange reproaches that have nothing to do with the urgency of fulfilling the rights of children" in the consideration of the bill presented by PSOE, Sumar and Canarian Coalition, since "with their action, the possibility that Congress does its job is blocked, the job for which citizens elected us at the polls."
Cristina Valido began her speech before the plenary session of Congress with an "explicit recognition" of the Maritime Rescue personnel who work in the Canarian waters, as well as the health workers and officials of the State security forces who attend to the continuous arrival of migrants to the islands. Valido also highlighted the solidarity work of the NGOs and volunteers who are supporting the care of migrants who manage to reach the archipelago's coast aboard cayucos and pateras. "People who care for migrants when they arrive on the shore," explained the nationalist spokesperson, "because they will see with enormous astonishment the position, as well as the speeches, of many speaking of what they live, because those who have not been there, on the front line, will speak of what others live."
In this area, Cristina Valido recognized the work carried out by people in support of the thousands of migrants who risk their lives at sea in their attempt to reach the Canary Islands and encouraged the commitment of the deputies of Congress to move forward with the consideration of the bill for the modification of article 35 of the Immigration Law. "Because now it is our turn because we are, deputies, who have to work to give an answer to one of the great challenges of this century," said the nationalist spokesperson.
"A challenge that the Canary Islands live in the first place, but that the entire Spanish State also lives and that the southern border of the European Union lives, which has not yet found out," said Cristina Valido to lament the "lack of content and work plans in the new European Commission to face the migratory challenge on the southern border of the archipelago."
"This legislative modification to respond to the difficult situation of thousands of unaccompanied migrant minors is for the entire territory, also the continental, not only for the Canary Islands because it is true that the Canary Islands are far away, and that some are happy that we are so far away because they would like migrant children without family company to stay on the islands, as long as they do not touch their beloved Peninsula and do not touch their municipalities, let them stay there in the Canary Islands," said Cristina Valido, "because that is what we feel now in the Canary Islands, that is what many Canarians feel."
Faced with the "lack of commitment from all the autonomous communities" to share the flow of unaccompanied migrant minors, the spokesperson for the Canarian Coalition assured that the islands will continue to provide care to migrants, but warned that "the Canary Islands can no longer cope alone." In this sense, Cristina Valido indicated that "the Canary Islands cannot say that we do not care for them if the Spanish Government does not guarantee us financial funds for this task because today, this afternoon, tonight, tomorrow, we will care for them, we will save them and we will help them, even if we have to do it alone."
