Over 30 boats carrying roughly 600 irregular migrants reached Spain’s Balearic Islands since the start of the week, authorities said on Thursday. The surge reflects the growing use of a new migration route from North Africa, following crackdowns on other departure points.
While overall irregular migration to Spain has dropped this year, the Balearics have seen a sharp rise – up 170% in the first half of the year to about 3,000 people, according to official figures. The number of boats, mostly leaving from Algeria, has more than doubled.
A considerable share of those arriving are from East Africa.
According to a Reuters news report, one migrant from South Sudan had paid $2,000 to take a boat from Algeria to Mallorca, a journey that lasted 46 hours.
Officials in the Balearic Islands warn they risk becoming a new primary entry point for migrants, similar to the Canary Islands, which saw 47,000 arrivals from West Africa at the height of that route in 2024. ALSO READ: Spain registers all-time record of migrants reaching the Canary Islands.
Migrant arrivals in the Canaries fell by 46% from January to July this year, thanks in large part to tighter controls by Mauritania. ALSO READ: Mauritania and Spain pledge cooperation on migration and to combat people smuggling.
‘Where is the government of [Pedro] Sánchez?’ Balearic regional leader Marga Prohens posted on X (see below) on Wednesday, referencing Spain’s prime minister. She urged for stronger law enforcement presence and closer cooperation with Algeria. ALSO READ: More than 10,450 migrants died in 2024 trying to reach Spain by sea.
‘One small boat every two hours in the Balearic Islands, 542 migrant people since Monday, and more than 4,000 people arrived irregularly on our coasts so far this year,’ wrote Prohens. ‘While the rest of the migratory routes are decreasing, the Balearic route is consolidating and growing. Where is the Sánchez Government?’
Alfonso Rodríguez, the central government’s regional representative, attributed the rise to calm seas and the exploitation of gaps in security by organised criminal networks. He dismissed the claim of a specific Algeria-to-Balearics ‘route’, saying instead that it was a broader Mediterranean flow.
Last month, Spain’s central government pledged to boost the Balearics’ capacity to manage incoming migrants.
Mallorca’s local media have reported instances in which new arrivals were left waiting for hours in public parks due to a lack of available shelters, before being transferred by ferry to the mainland. ALSO READ: Spain approves transfer of migrant minors from Canary Islands to other regions.
ALSO READ: ‘We owe a lot to them’ – Sánchez hails benefits of ‘safe, orderly, regular migration’.
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L’arribada de migrants en pastera a les Balears assoleix rècords mentre el sistema d’asil continua trencat https://t.co/UvLD9opY7o Per @nicolasribas_
— elDiario.es Balears (@eldiariobalears) August 15, 2025
🛥️Prop de 300 migrants han arribat a Formentera des de dilluns. És gairebé la meitat de les persones que han arribat en els darrers dies a les Balears.
🗣️”Els serveis estan col·lapsats, necessitam ajuda”, diu @consell_formen pic.twitter.com/0z9rpmkgY1
— RTVEBalears (@RTVEBalears) August 13, 2025
Una pastera cada dues hores a les Illes Balears, 542 persones migrants des de dilluns i més de 4.000 persones arribades de manera irregular a les nostres costes en el que duim d’any.
Mentre la resta de rutes migratòries baixa, es consolida i creix la ruta balear.
On és el… pic.twitter.com/6wCfexTgU2
— Marga Prohens (@MargaProhens) August 13, 2025
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