Illegal immigration into Spain’s Canary Islands “remains at extreme levels” and will almost certainly get worse in the second half of August, a Civil Guard report has said.
The number of arrivals is on the verge of breaking the all-time record, and will soon likely pass 30,000 so far this year. The report, seen by Spanish outlet La Gaceta, says this could happen in the coming weeks after 2,200 illegal migrants arrived in July.
That number was the highest total for a July since 2006, when 2,260 arrived.
The report warns that the situation will only get worse, as “the weather and maritime conditions for sailing to the Canary Islands begin to improve significantly from the second half of August,” meaning there will therefore be “a significant upturn from this date.”
“Arrivals in August have always been higher than in July, so the situation is likely to repeat itself in 2024,” the Civil Guard concludes.
The report adds that 85% of the arrivals are adult men and just 7% are adult women. The remaining 8% are minors, most of whom are also male.
Last year, a record 39,910 illegal migrants arrived in the Canary Islands, representing a dramatic increase of 154.5%, despite the route to the islands across the Atlantic from North Africa being extremely dangerous. One Spanish NGO estimates that as many as 7,800 people have either died or gone from 2018 to 2022 while trying to make the crossing.
