Spain set a record in 2024 with 63,970 irregular migrant arrivals, highlighting challenges in the Canary Islands and reforms to legalize 300,000 migrants annually by 2025.
Spain set a new record for irregular migrant arrivals in 2024, with 63,970 individuals entering the country by land or sea, according to data from the Interior Ministry released on Thursday.
This marks the second consecutive year of record-breaking numbers, surpassing the 2023 total of 55,718, which was nearly double the figure recorded in 2022.
In 2024, the majority of migrants — 46,843 — undertook the perilous sea journey from northwest Africa to the Canary Islands. Tragically, an average of 30 lives were lost each day attempting to reach Spain, according to a December report by the NGO Caminando Fronteras. The report estimates nearly 10,000 fatalities on routes to the Canary Islands alone.
The president of the Canary Islands emphasized the region’s struggle to manage the influx, particularly with minors, noting that services are overwhelmed and unable to provide adequate care in line with human rights standards.
Spain’s Migration Minister, Elma Saiz, addressed the issue during an interview with Spanish broadcaster RTVE, stating that the government is working towards an agreement to automatically transfer young migrants to the mainland.
She also announced that Spain’s new immigration law, coming into effect in 2025, will legalize around 300,000 undocumented migrants annually over three years.
“2025 will position Spain as a model for inclusion and harmonious coexistence with migrants,” Saiz said. She also praised the EU’s Migration Pact, agreed upon in 2024, which will be implemented alongside Spain’s reforms in 2025.
The second-largest migration route into Spain in 2024 involved nearly 14,500 arrivals by ship to the mainland or the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean.
Additionally, over 2,500 migrants crossed into Ceuta, Spain’s North African enclave, more than doubling the figure from 2023.
The U.S. rescued an airman missing from one of two warplanes downed in Iran, two U.S. officials said, as President...
At least 70 people are missing and two bodies have been recovered after a boat carrying migrants capsi...
Fuel leaked at Russia’s Baltic Sea port of Primorsk, while the NORSI oil refinery caught fire following drone attacks, Russian authorities sa...
Israeli airstrikes on the town of Kfar Hatta in Lebanon have reportedly killed six people and injured two, acco...
The United States rescued an airman caught behind lines after Iran shot down his F-15 fighter jet, the U.S. govern...
At least 18 people were killed when an inflatable boat carrying migrants sank off Türkiye's western province of Mugla on Wednesday, the coastguard said in a statement, adding that search and rescue efforts continued in the area.
The UK will pay France £16.2 million to continue beach patrols for two months, as both sides race to agree a new deal to curb small boat crossings across the Channel amid rising migrant numbers and political pressure.
Around 20 Azerbaijani migrant workers in Russia have been coerced into fighting on the front line in Ukraine, according to reports cited by Azerbaijani media.
One person has died and three remain missing after a migrant boat sank off the Greek island of Samos on Monday, authorities said.
One U.S. crew member has been rescued after two American warplanes were downed over Iran and the Gulf, as the search continues for a missing pilot, while President Donald Trump has given Tehran 48 hours to agree to a deal to end the war.
The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote next week on a Bahraini resolution to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and protect commercial shipping, diplomats said on Friday, amid opposition from China to any authorisation of force.
The U.S. rescued an airman missing from one of two warplanes downed in Iran, two U.S. officials said, as President Donald Trump and Israel stepped up pressure on Iran to open the strategic Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on energy facilities.
The family of the late Virginia Giuffre have urged King Charles III to meet survivors of sexual abuse during his upcoming state visit to the United States.
Senegal has taken steps to curb government spending by banning non-essential foreign travel for ministers, as rising global oil prices place increasing pressure on the country’s finances.
At least 70 people are missing and two bodies have been recovered after a boat carrying migrants capsized in the Mediterranean Sea, an Italian NGO said on Sunday (5 April).
Fuel leaked at Russia’s Baltic Sea port of Primorsk, while the NORSI oil refinery caught fire following drone attacks, Russian authorities said on Sunday (5 April).
The family of the late Virginia Giuffre have urged King Charles III to meet survivors of sexual abuse during his upcoming state visit to the United States.
British police have arrested a fourth person in connection with an arson attack on ambulances belonging to a Jewish community charity. The arrest took place at a London court on Saturday, where three other suspects were already appearing.
Senegal has taken steps to curb government spending by banning non-essential foreign travel for ministers, as rising global oil prices place increasing pressure on the country’s finances.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment