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Immigration wave: Record number of illegal migrants land on Spanish Canary Islands

10,457 migrants have died or disappeared on the crossing to the Canary Islands just this year alone

Migrants arrive at the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, on Aug. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)
By Remix News Staff
5 Min Read

This year, a record number of migrants landed on the Canary Islands, located far off the coast of Africa, totaling over 46,800. A record number also lost their lives on the perilous Atlantic journey, despite the United Nations reporting that almost all of these migrants are economic migrants who are not fleeing war or persecution and have no right to asylum or refugee status.

In total, 46,843 migrants came to the island, beating the previous record of 39,910 set just the previous year, according to figures published by the Spanish Interior Ministry.

Most migrants arriving are coming from Senegal, Mali, and Morocco. In 2024, 63,970 illegal migrants arrived in Spain, which means the clear majority are arriving via the treacherous ocean journey to the Canary Islands, which are 100 kilometers off the coast of Morocco in the Atlantic Ocean.

It is thought that one of the reasons for the increase has to do with the strict enforcement seen on the Mediterranean, which is driving migrants to find alternative routes.

There has been some progress in combating illegal immigration last year. The number of illegal entries fell by 40 percent by the end of November 2024, according to the EU border agency Frontex. However, on the Atlantic route, they rose by 19 percent.

It is considered one of the most dangerous migration journeys in the world. The NGO Caminando Fronteras reports that at least 10,457 migrants have died or disappeared on the crossing to the Canary Islands between the beginning of 2024 and Dec. 5, 2024, representing a 50 percent increase from the previous year, and the highest number of deaths or disappearances on the route since records began in 2007. If this number is accurate, it means migrants have only a one in five chance, approximately, of making it to the Canary Islands alive.

Notably, the people risking their lives are not doing it as refugees, with the UN Refugee Agency stating that “most people who reach the Canary Islands have no real reasons to flee in the sense of the Geneva Refugee Convention.” In other words, these are economic migrants who are almost always not entitled to asylum status. Many of them know, however, that deportations almost never happen.

There also appears to be no sign that the migration wave will end, at least if New Year’s Day is any guide. On that day, migrants landed on the beach of Las Galletas in the south of Tenerife in dramatic fashion, with tourists on scene to see the migrants come ashore. Two people did not survive the journey.

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