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Date Published: 05/10/2021
ARCHIVED - Illegal immigration in Spain grows by 51 per cent in 2021
The vast majority of migrants arriving in Spain have headed for the Canary Islands
The Ministry of the Interior has published the latest data regarding the influx of irregular immigrants into Spain between the period of January 1 and September 30 this year, and the figures show that to date, 28,729 people have illegally crossed the borders into this country – that’s an increase of 51% compared to the same period in 2020, when 19,024 entries were recorded.
Illegal migration slowed somewhat last year, due in part to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic where travel across the globe was severely restricted and so any unauthorised passages were highly conspicuous. Now that measures are being eased, entry via sea and land has skyrocketed throughout Spain in virtually every area, with the exception of the north African autonomous community of Melilla, where efforts have been made to reinforce border control.
Illegal entry by sea has increased by 53.8%, going from 17,641 people in the first nine months of 2020 to 27,136 this year, with experts attributing relatively calm seas and mild weather to the surge. The Canary Islands has been by far the most popular destination, accounting for 47% of all illegal immigration; that’s an increase of 116% on last year. The remaining 13,320 migrants arrived on the coasts of mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands (18.8% more than 2020).
The figures are somewhat different regarding Spain’s enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, with the former experiencing a 142% surge, similar to the Peninsula. However, arrivals by sea to Melilla have fallen by 73% this year.
The situation is a little less clear when it comes to illegal entry into Spain by land, according to the Ministry of the Interior, and the figure of 1,593 crossings is purely provisional as the data is constantly undergoing “analysis and treatment.” This is as a result of the migration crisis in the city of Ceuta in May this year, which saw more than 6,000 people storm the border from Morocco.
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