Politicians in the Balearic Islands say Spain must completely rethink how it handles irregular migration after yet another spike in small-boat arrivals. Figures released in Palma show 5,596 people reached the archipelago in 333 boats last year, an eye-watering rise of 155 per cent on 2022, when 2,194 people arrived in 137 craft.
Most launched from Algeria and risked the Alboran Sea before touching land on picturesque beaches more used to seeing package tourists than police patrols. Formentera has become the main drop-off point, taking roughly forty-six per cent of all newcomers in 2024.
Local officials insist the island’s tiny footprint and limited security presence make it an obvious target for smugglers who now view it as a gateway to the Schengen zone. Critics in Palma say the national government has failed to keep pace, leaving tired Guardia Civil units to pick up the slack, reported the Express.
Regional president Marga Prohens has publicly berated Madrid for what she calls “the total lack of control” over the influx. She argues that too few officers from the State Security Forces and Corps are stationed across the islands, which hampers both border policing and day-to-day crime fighting.
Prohens told reporters, “The lack of FFCCSE troops is linked to difficulties in controlling the worrying crime data in the Balearic Islands. As a government, we can only share the concern that this brings to citizens, especially when migrants arriving on the shores of the Islands face them with defiant and obscene gestures.”
Catalina Cirer, the minister responsible for families and social services, says the pressure is felt far beyond the beaches. “The government has expressed its concern about this human drama, which affects us very directly and in many areas,” she warned, pointing out that emergency accommodation and medical facilities are already stretched during the busy summer season.
Behind the headlines lies a complex diplomatic riddle. Most boats come from Algeria, a country whose relationship with Spain hit rock bottom in 2022 after Madrid threw its weight behind Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara. Algiers responded by suspending relations and trade links, a move that also torpedoed joint police operations targeting smuggling gangs.
Although tempers have cooled and Algeria’s interior minister visited Madrid in February this year, the Balearics say talk must now turn into action. Regional officials want an urgent bilateral agreement covering maritime patrols, repatriation procedures and faster intelligence sharing, arguing that new cutters and drones alone will not solve the problem if smugglers can operate unhindered on the other side of the water.
Spain’s interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska is keen to emphasize recent progress, describing Algeria as a “key partner” after the February meeting. His department says joint patrols in the Alboran Sea have already been reinforced and more resources are on the way, though island leaders remain skeptical.
With summer approaching and sea conditions improving, Palma fears another record year unless Madrid secures cast-iron commitments from Algiers and provides extra boots on the ground. Island residents, meanwhile, watch the horizon, wondering how many more unseaworthy boats will slip through before policy finally catches up with reality.
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