The Government will amend the system of support for looked-after children and recipients of guaranteed social income to stop the region becoming a magnet for migrants, according to the President of the Government, Marga Prohens.
She stated that, just as a minimum of five years’ legal residence is already required to access public housing or any capped-price housing, the guaranteed social income will be modified to extend the required legal residence from one to three years and, except in justified cases, link it to employment integration programmes in order to maintain this benefit. She also announced changes to the emancipation allowance to require a minimum of three years of care in the islands.
“We cannot in any way contribute to a "pull factor" along a migratory route that is growing exponentially,” said the President. Prohens affirmed that the Government cannot provide a benefit “to those who arrive at an age at which they cannot even be enrolled in school,” and that after a year or a few months, “simply by having been in care,” they would be entitled to the emancipation allowance, which is intended “for individuals who have already spent years within the system.” She announced that Vice President Antònia Estarellas will meet with the Algerian Ambassador to Spain, even though the Government has no jurisdiction, to address the migration crisis.
Prohens defended the essential role of migrants who come to the Balearics “to contribute and make a positive impact,” but stressed that, “out of respect for the local population,” the Government will not allow people to arrive solely to “abuse our public benefits and support” as a means of living, “and even less so if it could create a pull factor.” “We must stand firm against the Spanish Government’s attempts to impose the reception of minors from other regions, when we are already at capacity here and they continue to arrive directly on our coasts,” said the President.
She insisted that the Government will continue to use every avenue at its disposal to stop this distribution. “Despite the denialism that some still maintain, the existence of an illegal immigration route is unquestionable,” she added. “A country’s migration policy cannot be based on setting up tents at ports and distributing minors,” she said.