Illegal immigration fell by more than 25% in 2022 in Spain compared to the previous year, a particularly marked decrease in arrivals by sea, the Ministry of the Interior announced on Tuesday January 3 in its annual report.
A total of 31,219 migrants entered Spain illegally in 2022, compared to 41,945 in 2021, a decrease of around 25.6%.
The ministry, which points out that this is the second consecutive annual decline and the third in four years, explains it in a press release by the increase in "
(its) cooperation with the countries of origin and transit of immigration
" and the strengthening of "
the fight against the mafias which engage in human trafficking
".
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It should also be noted that following Madrid's about-face on the Western Sahara issue, the year 2022 was marked by the end of the diplomatic quarrel between Spain and Morocco, from which or through which a very large number of illegal migrants arriving in Spain pass.
“
The most significant reduction concerns entries by sea, which reveal a general fall on the coasts of the peninsula, in Ceuta, in the Balearic Islands and the Canaries, both for the number of migrants and for that of boats
”, emphasizes the ministry.
The number of illegal migrants arriving by sea is thus down by 27.9% compared to 2021 and that of boats by 20.7%.
“
The most significant drop
” in the number of illegal arrivals concerns the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago located off the northwest coast of Africa: 15,682 against 22,316 in 2021, or 29.7% less.
Spain, one of the main gateways to Europe
Since the end of 2019 and the tightening of controls in the Mediterranean, the landings of illegal migrants had multiplied in the Canary Islands from the African coasts - in particular those of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony most of which is controlled by Morocco. - after a particularly dangerous crossing due to strong currents and the condition of the boats.
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On the other hand, entries by land (as opposed to sea) into the two Spanish enclaves in Morocco of Ceuta and Melilla, which constitute the only two land borders of the European Union with the African continent, increased by 24 .1%.
Nearly 2,000 migrants tried to force their way into Melilla on June 24.
Rejected by the Moroccan security forces, this attempt killed 23 of them, according to the Moroccan authorities, 27 according to the Moroccan association for human rights (AMDH).
Spain is one of the main entry points for illegal immigration in Europe, even if this country is often only a stopover, with migrants then going to other EU states.
In a report made public last month, the Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras, which takes stock of the tragedies of migration based on calls from migrants or their relatives, said that more than 11,200 migrants had died or had disappeared since 2018 while trying to reach Spain, an average of six per day.
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