The Secretary of State for Security, Aina Calvo, said on Friday that it is ‘necessary to address and reverse’ the ‘significant increase’ in the arrival of immigrants on small boats from Algeria to the Balearics, and defended the need for a ‘radical fight’ against the criminal organisations responsible for these transfers.
During a visit to Palma, Calvo accused these mafias of putting the lives of thousands of people at risk, many of whom die during the journey from North Africa to the Balearics. The Secretary of State stressed that this phenomenon must be tackled in the countries of origin, and highlighted that diplomatic and operational efforts have succeeded in reducing the number of trips by canoes and small boats to the Canary Islands by 40%.
According to EFE’s figures, based on data from the Government Delegation, 175 small boats carrying 3,363 migrants have arrived in the Balearics so far this year. In 2024, a total of 5,882 people arrived irregularly by sea, according to the Ministry of the Interior’s Annual National Security Report. Calvo stressed that the Spanish government supports an ‘orderly, regular and safe’ migration process and has categorically rejected illegal entries promoted by human trafficking networks.
She also called for avoiding a ‘dialectical battle’ over the ‘tremendous challenge’ of irregular immigration and praised the ‘successful’ work being carried out by the Government Delegation and the state security forces. The Secretary of State also pointed out the responsibility of public administrations to attend to ‘in the best possible way’ those who arrive on the islands in small boats, as well as to facilitate their integration, together with those who enter the country legally.
She pointed out that the autonomous communities, such as the Balearic government, have powers in the area of care for migrant minors and therefore ‘cannot ignore their responsibilities’.
Calvo expressed her rejection of hate crimes against migrants promoted, she said, by ‘ultra-right groups’ and the ‘far right’. ‘These are indecent and cowardly strategies,’ she added.
The Government delegate in the Balearic Islands, Alfonso Rodríguez, responded to the PP Government’s criticism of the state’s migration policy, assuring that it was due to a ‘political confrontation’ on the part of the PP, both at the regional and national level, with the aim of obtaining ‘electoral gain’ from the migration crisis.
Rodríguez considered it ‘inappropriate’ that the PP had reached an agreement with Vox on immigration in order to approve the Balearic Islands’ regional budget. He also regretted that, as a result of this agreement, the Balearic executive is opposed to participating in the distribution of migrant minors proposed by the State among all the autonomous communities, as well as to allocating funds for their reception in shelters or aid to the NGOs that care for them. The government delegate also criticised the appointment of Manuel Pavón as the new director general of Immigration and Cooperation of the Balearic Government for ‘linking the phenomenon of migration with public insecurity’.
Spain has surpassed Germany as the main destination for asylum in the European Union, according to the latest data from the EU Agency for Asylum report. In May 2025, Spain recorded nearly 12,800 asylum applications. This figure places Spain above Germany, which had historically been the leader in this area.
This change has occurred mainly due to a significant decrease in protection applications from Syrian citizens. After the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, there has been a drastic drop in asylum applications from Syrians in the EU, which has especially affected Germany. In May 2025, asylum applications from Syrians across the EU fell from 16,000 to just 3,100.
Spain, meanwhile, has seen an increase in applications coming mainly from people fleeing the crisis in Venezuela. The serious economic and political situation in the South American country has led many Venezuelans to seek protection in Spain. The EU Agency for Asylum also links this trend to the more restrictive migration policies of the United States.