226 unaccompanied minors reach Mallorca as pressure mounts

Since the start of 2026, 226 unaccompanied migrant minors have reached Mallorca, adding to the strain on the island’s child-protection system. Llorenç Galmés, president of the Island Council of Mallorca, has asked Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for urgent action. In a letter, he wants migration measures addressed at Spain and Algeria’s high-level meeting in October.

Galmés has also asked to be told about any agreements from the meeting that could directly affect Mallorca. He says the island cannot keep facing the consequences alone as an external border of Spain and the European Union.

Call for closer work with Algeria

The council president wants Spain and Algeria to step up cooperation and pursue policies in migrants’ places of origin to prevent irregular departures towards Mallorca.

For unaccompanied minors, he has called for closer work with Algerian authorities to identify their families and gather the information needed for returns. Where families can take care of the children, family reunification and return to their home setting should take priority, he says, with all legal safeguards in place.

Galmés said the council had already asked the Spanish government on 29 October 2025 to begin return procedures for minors in the care of the Mallorcan Institute of Social Affairs. It also sought updates on reports into their family circumstances, but says it received no reply.

Homes under strain and boats left behind

The Island Council says its centres for minors are suffering 1,000% overcrowding. It says arrivals are following the pattern seen in 2025 and have accelerated in recent weeks.

Galmés also says the Balearic Islands have, for the first time, received more irregular migrants than the Canary Islands. He described the Algeria-to-Balearics route as Europe’s fastest-growing and, “regrettably”, its deadliest.

He has again urged the Spanish government to ask the European Commission to deploy the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, on the Balearic coast. The aim, he says, is to fight smuggling gangs and stop more people risking their lives on the crossing.

Abandoned pateras — small boats used for the journey — are also becoming a burden for Mallorca’s municipalities. Eight are waiting to be removed by the Government Delegation, while councils face the cost of taking them out of the water. The boats can pose an environmental risk if they run aground or leak fuel.

Topics: Migration · Sea & coast · Police · Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com