A total of 4,115 irregular migrants entered Spain in January 2022, an increase of 42.3% compared to the same period in 2021.
A report published by InfoMigrants indicates that the Canary Islands received the majority of the irregular migrants in January 2022, according to reports from SchengenVisaInfo.com
The first month of 2022 has witnessed 4,202 migrants enter Spain illegally by land and sea, an increase of 31.6% compared to the same period in 2021.
According to the Spanish Interior Ministry, a total of 3,194 people arrived on the Canary Islands after reaching Spain.
A staggering 65 migrants have either died or been reported missing since January 2022 while attempting to cross the Atlantic Ocean into the Spanish archipelago, according to the UN migration agency IOM. The same source further states that at least 26 migrants are reported dead along the deadly Western Mediterranean migration route between Spain and the North African coast.
However, the number of deaths is likely to be higher as the figures showed do not take into account deaths at sea that were never registered or reported during the migration attempt.
An analysis of recent statistics by the NGO Walking Borders indicated that 4,404 migrants died last year while attempting to enter Spain unlawfully. That figure is more than double what was recorded in 2020.
Such figures published by Walking Borders were much higher compared to the data provided by the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM).
“It’s horrible. These are the worst figures we’ve seen since we began keeping count in 2007,” Helena Maleno, the leader of Walking Borders, noted.
The majority of those who lost their lives in the Canary Islands during 2021 came from northern Africa, according to Walking Border’s report.
“The deterrence and contention policies imposed by Europe and Morocco on Western Mediterranean routes have steadily pushed migration flows towards the Atlantic, making the Canary Islands the main destination for people on the move,” the report said.
In addition, the figures provided by Walking Borders revealed that in their attempt to reach Spain in an unlawful way, a large number of women and children also lost their lives.
According to Frontex, the EU border agency, the number of illegal border crossings at the EU’s external borders increased last year after nearly 200,000 detections were made.
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