The Cabildo of Lanzarote has decreed Social Emergency in Lanzarote due to the "situation of migrant minors" and has alleged that the island "is under pressure" and in an "overwhelming situation" of the reception centers. Likewise, the president of the Institution, Oswaldo Betancort, has signed the decree that allows priority attention to minors and also the availability of all necessary resources.
The approval of this measure is also supported by the forecast of a record arrival of migrants in the coming weeks and months to the island.
According to Oswaldo Betancort, "it is an act of responsibility of the island government that will facilitate immediate decision-making to be able to welcome migrant children in the most dignified conditions possible, due to the inaction and lack of real responses from the Spanish Government on this priority issue of extreme importance for the island at this time," he says.
This Social Emergency will give the Cabildo of Lanzarote the possibility of "having a legal framework to make extraordinary decisions and urgent and forceful measures can be taken with the aim of mitigating the impact of this unprecedented crisis", argues Betancort.
The number of migrants that Lanzarote welcomes has increased compared to 2023. In that year, 742 unaccompanied minor migrants were cared for in a stable manner. A total of 190 boats arrived compared to the 142 that arrived in 2022. Regarding this year 2024, in the first semester the number of boats has been 40. Only in the last arrival of boats a total of 600 people arrived on the island, 40 of them minors.
The forecasts for the coming months are not better, as the arrival of about 70,000 migrants to the Canary Islands is expected, of which it is estimated that 10%, that is, 7,000, are minors. Currently, the Archipelago welcomes 5,600 minors, but the figures may range this year between 12,000 and 16,000.
The island councilor for Social Welfare and Inclusion, Marci Acuña, states that "the massive arrival of migrant minors to the island implies an emergency situation due to the impossibility of having resources and reception centers with the necessary places to guarantee their immediate attention." The situation to accommodate these people has been overwhelmed, since there are no infrastructures to host migrants. "This declaration of emergency will allow us to have all the necessary tools to articulate care mechanisms for unaccompanied migrant minors who arrive or reside on the island," explains Acuña.
The island of Lanzarote currently has nine reception devices for unaccompanied immigrant minors, of which six depend on the Cabildo, with an annual cost that exceeds four million euros. The other three centers are under the responsibility of the Government of the Canary Islands. Likewise, the president of the Island Council, Oswaldo Betancort, states that they have demanded that the Government of Spain increase the number of State Security Forces and Corps and that "make available its own facilities on the island, such as the Marqués de Herrera Barracks."
