Anti-migration protest attracts hundreds

Hundreds protested Saturday in the Canary Islands against an influx of migrants to the Spanish archipelago, which has welcomed more than 19,000 migrants since the beginning of 2024.

Located off the coast of northwest Africa, the Canary Islands have become an increasingly popular destination for migrants braving the perilous Atlantic crossing in the hope of finding a better life in Europe.

Carrying “Defend our neighbourhoods” and “Stop illegal immigration” placards, the demonstrators took to the streets of towns including Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, with local media putting their numbers at several hundred.

“This situation in the Canaries is unbearable,” Juan Manuel Garcia, who took part in the demonstration in Tenerife, told AFPTV.

“The Canaries don’t have the means to support those who arrive,” the 70-year-old added.

Rudy Ruyman, who helped organise the demonstration, said that the situation had become “a traffic in human lives”, warning that “the mafia is profiting from all the deaths at sea”.