The Spanish Government has allocated a budget to the housing of migrants in the Balearics and which could include hotels. The ministry for inclusion, social security and migration says hotels will only be used in exceptional circumstances - if there is insufficient capacity in facilities designated for the housing of migrants.
This budget, which is until the end of 2025, is €6.7 million. It covers the creation of temporary care facilities in the Port of Palma and the start-up of accommodation as well as services such as security and translation. It also includes cost of ferry transport to the mainland; this will be for migrants referred to reception centres on the mainland that are operated under the ministry's humanitarian aid programme.
Hotels, it is said, could also be used in special situations, such as the arrival of an entire family unit or a woman who has reported experiencing gender-based violence while on the crossing from north Africa.
The Spanish Government's delegation in the Balearics confirms that potential hotels have already been identified. Regarding the planned port facility as a temporary care centre, this will include an area to care for new arrivals, an infirmary, a legal assistance area, a Red Cross work area, a dining hall, and overnight stays.
The Balearic Government has meanwhile instructed the regional attorney's office to file an appeal with the Supreme Court in Madrid against the distribution of unaccompanied migrant minors to the Balearics. The government is basing its appeal on the lack of an enabling budget for such an emergency measure and the invasion of regional competences with regard to matters of guardianship and protection of minors.
Manuel Pavón, the National Police inspector who was recently appointed as the Balearics director-general for immigration and cooperation, has been speaking about the situation with migrants currently arriving from north Africa. He advocates the involvement of the Frontex European Border and Coast Guard Agency, which has specialists in analysing migration processes and interviewing people who arrive as well as "countless resources".
He points to the situation getting worse in the Balearics while it is improving in the Canaries - a 77% increase in the number of migrants arriving in the Balearics this year compared with a 46% decrease in the Canaries. Pavón accuses the Spanish Government's delegate, Alfonso Rodríguez, of lying when he says that checks on migrants are "exhaustive".
"Perhaps he's forgotten that I'm a police officer; he can lie to society, but not to me. Every time waves of boats arrive, the police unions complain that they don't have the resources and that people aren't monitored. We must recognise that we don't know who arrives, where they're going, or what they've done; we have no data, and the police are overwhelmed."