This Monday a new one occurred Mass arrival of immigrants swimming to the beach of El Tarajal, in Ceuta. Agents of the Civil Guard and the National Police evacuated the beach due to the disturbances that occurred after the arrival of numerous people, among them minors, who risked their lives trying to bypass the maritime border between Spain and Morocco to reach European soil. More than 2,000 kilometers away in a straight line, on the island of El Hierro, more than 1,200 people were rescued in four days and transferred to a safe place thanks to the efforts of the State Security Forces and Corps, the Civil Guard, the National Police or the Maritime Rescue Service, among others.
In the Balearic Islands, the figures are also showing no signs of respite. The arrival of undocumented people totals 1,035, that is, 128% more than the same period last year, with the consequent overflow for law enforcement in this community as well. And, on the other hand, the situation at Barajas airport. In recent months it has been dealing with a historic volume of asylum requests that are collapsing the temporary reception resources at the airport. The various Police and Civil Guard unions criticise the “scarce material and personal resources” to address the migration crisis and charge against the “patches” of the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who “does not respond to the requests” of this group. “We feel overwhelmed, helpless and unprotected,” they denounce in a conversation with LA RAZÓN.
Laura García, spokesperson for Jupol, warns of the lack of resources and numerical inferiority compared to the people in custody. «We have asked the Interior Ministry to provide solutions but that they are permanent over time.» In the Canary Islands the situation is dramatic. It has become the main recipient of immigrants and there is insufficient staff. He describes that in El Hierro «there are four police officers during the day and in the afternoon in the CATE to attend to the people and three at night. These same police officers are the ones who have to go if a boat arrives.» He adds that the numerical difference «not only endangers the police officers, but also the people who are there.»Yo “because we are not exempt from problems or from the outbreak of a mutiny.” He points out that human resources are being moved from one island to another. “The staff in Tenerife, for example, is one of those affected. And these transfers are also suffered by the citizens because when they call the police they want us to be there.” Among the measures they have been demanding for some time is the publication of a protocol for action in the event of the arrival of small boats, which will put an end to improvisation.
Mila Cívico, spokesperson for the association for Justice for the Civil Guard (JUCIL), emphasises the “lack of protection” and “abandonment” suffered by the agents. “This migratory flow is not new. We have been demanding a review of the job catalogue for many years because it is obsolete.” They focus on Ceuta. Border surveillance, which includes 12 kilometres of fencing and access control through the border crossing, is carried out per shift by an average of between eight and ten civil guards from the Citizen Security Service, together with a dozen members of the Reserve Group (ARS), of riot police.
The migration crisis in Ceuta is worsening with each passing day, with hundreds of people trying to cross into Spanish territory in extremely dangerous conditions. Immigrants choose to take to the sea in large groups, up to 200 people, taking advantage of the lack of visibility and the calm sea. This situation not only poses a risk to the immigrants, but also generates additional pressure on the Civil Guards, who must manage these constant human avalanches with limited resources. At the same time, law enforcement agencies also have to deal with complaints.
The most publicised case was undoubtedly the trial of 16 Civil Guard officers for possible crimes of homicide due to gross negligence and denial of assistance for their actions in El Tarajal in 2014, when they fired rubber bullets at a group of migrants who were at sea, resulting in 15 deaths. In cases like this, they complain that “we do not have any kind of support or backing. All they are always looking for are heads,” he says. JUCIL has been demanding for years that the Civil Guard be recognised as a high-risk profession. Both JUPOL and JUCIL agree that this avalanche of irregular arrivals is orchestrated by mafias. “We see it at the airport. All flights arriving with immigrants fly with Royal Air Maroc, stopping in Casablanca and their final destination is Madrid. “Everyone tears up their passport on the flight and throws it down the toilet in the plane’s bathroom. Everyone does the same. We understand that there is something behind it, it is not something spontaneous,” denounces Jupol. “Of course there are mafias behind it. All the people who are now arriving from Morocco do so with wetsuits and fins and they are organized in groups. There are people who are profiting from it,” add from Jucil.
With autumn just around the corner and an increase in arrivals expected, the Police and Civil Guard are raising their voices to demand resources, legal protection and institutional protection to be able to deal with a situation that threatens the country’s security. “We are helpless,” They say it over and over again, faced with the constant silence and patching up of the Ministry of the Interior.