Morocco Agrees to Repatriate Unaccompanied Minors from Canary Islands Amid Migration Talks

According to the statistics, 28% of the migrants arriving in the Canary Islands come from Morocco, Fernando Clavijo recalled before hailing "the enormous effort" and the frank collaboration of the Moroccan government to limit irregular immigration. Nasser Bourita, for his part, assured that Morocco is willing to cooperate for the return of unaccompanied minors, stressing that the "gaps in laws and [administrative] procedures" in Spain and Europe in general made this repatriation difficult.

"We have discussed the possibility of collaborating with Morocco and opening a common work space so that unaccompanied Moroccan minors who are in the Canary Islands can return home. The minister has mapped out paths that have opened the way for us," said Clavijo, who promised to faithfully report on these "hopeful" exchanges to the Spanish government in order to send "a clear message" to human trafficking networks.

Since last July, the Canary Islands have opened around 40 reception centers for minors, bringing their number to 80. The Canarian authorities have written a letter to the central government to request financial support to continue to care for the minors. The expenses related to the care of minors amount to 157.1 million euros, according to the spokesman of the regional government, Alfonso Cabello, who spoke about it on Monday.

In September, migrant arrivals in the Canary Islands reached 5,284, including 719 unaccompanied foreign minors, after a record summer where 6,267 migrants entered the archipelago between July and August, according to the latest data from the regional government.