A 34-year-old US citizen, currently with his family in Felanitx, went to the local Guardia Civil station on Tuesday and formally requested political asylum in Spain due to an "insurmountable fear" of the policies of President Donald Trump and his immigration enforcement agency, ICE. This is the first time in Mallorca island that a US citizen has requested this type of protection.
He resides in Florida and has witnessed in recent months the excesses of ICE, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He arrived in Mallorca three weeks ago for a holiday with his family. His father has bought a house on the island, and he says he wants to live and work in Mallorca because of the climate of political freedom. He has referred to the stance of the Spanish Government regarding the Middle East conflict and describes the war against Iran as "illegal".
In his asylum application, he explains that he is a Democrat and that he has a "real fear" of what might happen to him if he returns to the US, because Trump "is very dangerous and I don't share his values". He even fears for his life, because he defends certain Democratic beliefs that put him in "serious danger". He emphasises that he has witnessed ICE attacks against migrants of various nationalities.
The request for political asylum has been forwarded to the National Police and other government departments. Legally, the deadline for resolving an asylum application is six months. Requesting political asylum from a democratic country like the US is complex and requires demonstrating genuine persecution, which in many cases is difficult to prove.
In recent months, there have been requests for political asylum by US citizens in other parts of Spain.