Centre right Partido Popular mayors in the Balearics have today, Friday, called for the suspension of the extraordinary regularisation of migrants due to the chaos caused, in their view, in local councils. In a statement released in a press release, the mayor of Marratxí, Jaume Llompart, stated that on the first day of the process it became clear “that whilst this extraordinary regularisation is approved by the central government, the burden falls on local councils and their staff, overwhelming services and jeopardising support for residents”.
The mayors explained that the first day of the process led to “a flood of people” at municipal offices for citizen services and social services to apply for the vulnerability certificate, a necessary requirement for regularisation. This situation resulted in long queues, overwhelmed services and “a state of absolute chaos in many local councils”, he stated.
Furthermore, some councils saw the number of calls triple in a single day. As Llompart reported, “not only had the Spanish Government failed to inform local councils in advance, but throughout the day there was a complete lack of clear instructions on the protocol to follow for issuing these certificates”.
This lack of information, he said, caused even more confusion, to the extent that people travelled between municipalities mistakenly believing they could obtain the document at any local council. “The result is that each local council had to manage the situation as best it could, with staff overwhelmed and stretched to the limit,” added the mayor of Marratxí.
In many cases, he noted, the councils were only able to register applications, postponing the issuing of certificates and booking appointments for the coming days, which compromises the attention given to other residents’ needs. The mayors have also warned of the demographic pressure facing the Islands, with a constant increase in population and the impact of irregular immigration.
In this regard, they pointed out that in the last five years nearly 20,000 people in an irregular situation have arrived on the islands, and that this year the figure has already risen by 20 per cent compared to last year. In light of this situation, Llompart stressed that “what became clear yesterday is that this regularisation is unsustainable for local councils, for the towns and for the Balearics as a whole”.
“We are calling for this extraordinary regularisation to be halted due to its complete lack of foresight and planning, for having shifted the burden onto local councils, and to prevent it from compromising the care of our residents,” he stated.
Finally, they advocated for an immigration model based on order and the capacity for integration. “Immigration must be legal, orderly and adapted to the reality of our islands. What the Spanish Government must do is strengthen the standard immigration mechanisms, because it has been demonstrated that this mass regularisation is an irresponsibility that we cannot bear,” concluded Llompart.
A total of 7,030 migrants have arrived in Spain irregularly as of 15 April 2026, 47.5% fewer than in the same period last year, when 13,390 arrived, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior.
The report also reveals that so far this year, 5,004 migrants have arrived in Spain by sea, 61.2% fewer than in the same period last year, when there were 12,910 arrivals. This year, they have arrived in 174 boats, 138 fewer than last year.
It also notes that 2,898 migrants have arrived by sea on the mainland (1,580) and the Balearics (1,318), which is 21.2% more than in the same period of 2025, when 2,391 arrived. In this case, they arrived in 150 boats, six more than in the same period last year. As for the migrants who have arrived on the mainland by sea, this represents 293 more people than those who entered irregularly up to 15 April last year, an increase of 22.7%. They arrived in 85 boats, seven fewer than in 2025.
Meanwhile, 214 more migrants have entered the Balearics than in the same period of 2025, representing a 19.4% increase, and they arrived on board 65 boats, 16 more than between 1 and 15 April last year. As for the Canary Islands, 2,097 migrants have entered the archipelago this year, 80.1% fewer than those who arrived in the same period of 2025 (10,515).
As for Ceuta and Melilla, a total of 2,026 people have entered the autonomous cities irregularly by land this year, 322.1% more than in the same period last year. Thus, 1,968 migrants have arrived in the former, 1,531 more than last year, whilst 58 arrived in the latter, compared to 43 arrivals by the same date in 2025. By sea, according to the Ministry of the Interior, nine people had arrived in Melilla by 15 April this year, compared with one last year. Ceuta, however, has recorded none, unlike in 2025, when there were three.