Illegal migrants must be returned to countries of origin, Spanish PM says

Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister of Spain, has insisted that migrants who arrive on his country’s shores illegally must be returned to their countries of origin.
Speaking in Dakar, Senegal, on Wednesday evening, Sánchez said that sending irregular migrants back to their country “sends a dissuasive, sharp, clear and forceful message to the [people smuggling] mafias and to those who place themselves in their hands”.
His words came on the second day of a three-day visit to West Africa to tackle the issue of migration, long a major problem in coastal areas and the Canary Islands.
Between January 1 and August 15 this year, 22,304 migrants reached the islands, compared with 9,864 in the same period in 2023, an increase of 126 per cent, according to interior ministry figures.
Across Spain, there were 31,155 arrivals up to mid-August, a 66.2 per cent increase on the 18,745 a year earlier. Spanish authorities fear that as many as 150,000 migrants from Africa may arrive in the coming months, given calm conditions in the Atlantic Ocean.
However, Sánchez also extolled the virtues of immigration and the benefits it has brought to Spain. “For us, the phenomenon of migration is a matter of moral principles, solidarity and dignity, and it is also a matter of pure rationality, because the contribution of migrant workers to our economy is fundamental, as is the support for our social security or public pension systems,” he added.
Sánchez’s visit to West Africa has also included stops in Mauritania and The Gambia. Earlier on Wednesday he met with the Gambian president, Adama Barrow, in the capital, Banjul.
The two leaders signed a joint declaration committing to deepening bilateral co-operation on migration. They also agreed a memorandum of understanding to develop a “circular migration model” for at least a year, which would allow some Gambian workers to be selected in their country of origin to come and work in Spain.
A similar agreement was made with Mauritania on Tuesday, under which Spain would publicise job offers for which candidates could be selected for interviews, potential visas and work contracts.
After a meeting with Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, the president of Mauritania, Sánchez said the main aim of his visit was to combat human trafficking. The trip has, however, been given short shrift by the political opposition back home.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the conservative Popular Party (PP), accused Sánchez of attracting would-be migrants to the country in the middle of the “worst ever migration crisis”.
“Instead of going to Africa to fight the mafias, Sánchez is promoting Spain as a destination,” he railed. “This is the opposite to what the rest of the EU is doing. Whoever comes here should have a contract and an invitation letter, in line with our laws.”