After presiding over her first Sectoral Immigration Conference today in Madrid, Elma Saiz has announced that she will try to promote the necessary regulatory modifications so that the Autonomous Communities are no longer solely responsible for unaccompanied foreign minors (or, as they are commonly known, ores) that are in their territories. This measure, which appears in the agreement reached between the PSOE and the Canary Coalition for the investiture of Pedro Sánchez, aims to achieve a more equitable distribution between the communities so that situations such as the one currently going through the Canary Islands do not occur, where there are under guardianship 4,391 minors, more than double the number before the summer, as a result of the constant arrival of cayucos between July and October.
Furthermore, the new Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration has announced that, in the first half of 2024, she will promote a reform of the regulations of the Immigration Law to “simplify documentation and procedures” and also “strengthen the protection of migrants against exploitation”.
The government of the Canary Islands, through Candelaria Delgado, the Minister of Children, has regretted the lack of short-term measures during the Sectoral Conference and has announced that it has been agreed that the Canary Islands will assume the vice presidency of the Conference: “We will work to improve coordination between the autonomous communities and interterritorial solidarity,” said Delgado, who recalled that this year more than 38,000 people have arrived in the Archipelago in canoes or boats.
The positive assessment that Saiz has made of the conference has contrasted with the reading made by the communities that are in the hands of the PP. The Andalusian Government has regretted “still without information and without a commitment to finance the transfers and reception of minors from the Canary Islands”, while the second vice president of the Valencian Community, Susana Camarero, has demanded “real information, coordination and commitment” to address the migration crisis. Furthermore, she has reported that minors have arrived from the Canary Islands with adult documentation. For its part, the Government of Murcia has demanded state funding to “be able to attend to the arrival of migrants from the Canary Islands” and has denounced that the Region is supporting the expenses derived from their reception and integration with its own resources.