More than 1,000 people arrived in Gran Canaria, Tenerife and El Hierro on Saturday, a spokeswoman for the Canarian services said. They reached the islands about twenty Boatswhich were barely seaworthy. The body of one of the migrants was discovered on El Hierro. On Sunday, other boats carrying around 600 people also arrived on the islands.
Such a large influx of immigrants causes great dissatisfaction among the inhabitants of the islands – reports the timesnest.com website. “Not for illegal immigration!” “It’s a real invasion,” said the people who took part in the protest march in Arguineguín, a village of 500 inhabitants that is part of the holiday town of Mogán in the southwest of Gran Canaria.
A sudden influx of immigrants
The island chain lies approximately 100 kilometers off the North African coast. Following the conclusion of the border control agreements between the European Union and Libya, Morocco and Turkey, there has been a sharp increase in the number of migrants arriving in the Canary Islands. Over 11,000 people have traveled there since January. This is over seven times more than in the same period in 2019.
On Friday, EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson called for an increase in the repatriation rate of migrants who do not qualify for refugee status.
