Sharp Rise in Unaccompanied Minors Arriving to the Canary Islands

The Canary Islands has experienced a rise in arriving migrants, up to 22,300 as of August this year, a 126% increase from the same period last year. Particularly high among these numbers is unaccompanied children, mostly arriving from Africa. Under Spanish law, these children are the responsibility of the regional government, but as ABC News reports, the government of the Canary Islands does not have capacity to care for the number of children in its care. Currently there are more than 5,500 children and teens “living in overcrowded shelters with limited access to education, health, legal services and other rights they are entitled to under EU and Spanish law.” The Spanish government has recently announced $50 million euros in additional support.

IE