Police bust smuggling ring between Morocco and Spain
47 people were arrested in Gibraltar and Spain during the course of a police operation to break up a smuggling ring operating between Morocco, the British territory of Gibraltar and Spain.
Spain
1,300 reported deaths in the Mediterranean in 2019 -- IOM
Nearly 1,300 migrants drowned in the Mediterranean in 2019, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement published on January 3. The 1,282 drownings were 44% down on 2018, it said. The number of deaths since 2014 was now 19,164, IOM reported.
Spanish NGOs accuse Spain of illegal migrant push-back
The Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras in a statement accused the Spanish authorities of illegally returning to Morocco 42 migrants who landed on the Spanish Chafarinas islands by boat on Friday.
Spain grants residency to migrant who saved disabled man
An undocumented migrant from Senegal was granted residency in Spain on Friday after he was celebrated as a hero for having saved a disabled man from a burning building last month.
Alarm Phone says over 300 migrants died in last two months
In its bi-monthly report published on January 2, Alarm Phone, the distress hotline for migrant boats in the Mediterranean, says it recorded 95 distress cases involving 3,184 migrants. The non-profit organization also recorded more than 300 people as dead or missing.
Traffickers sentenced after Moroccan migrant's death
Nine people smugglers have been sentenced to up to ten years in prison, in connection to an incident in the western Mediterranean that led to the death of a young Moroccan migrant in 2018.
Frontex: Fluctuating trends for migrant arrivals to Europe
As 2019 draws to a close, the European border agency Frontex has released its latest reports about fluctuating trends across migrant arrivals to Europe. It found that arrivals were falling in the western and central Mediterranean and growing in the eastern Mediterranean as well as the Balkans.
At least 8 dead, dozens missing after migrant boat capsizes between Morocco and Spain
At least eight migrants are dead and another 24 are missing after a boat, thought to have been carrying between 90 and 100 migrants, capsized within sight of Spain’s southern coast just before dawn on December 16.
Hero without papers: Undocumented Senegalese man saves Spanish resident from fire
Gorgui Lamine Sow, an undocumented migrant from Senegal has become a hero in Spain after he saved a man in a wheelchair from a fire in the man’s apartment. Now, the Spanish authorities are considering whether to award Sow a residency permit. More than 55,000 people have signed an online petition asking that they do so.
Grenade found at Madrid youth migrant center puts spotlight on 'climate of hate'
A youth migrant center in Madrid was evacuated Wednesday after police found a hand-grenade on the premises. The center had made headlines last month when the anti-immigrant Vox party claimed its presence had allegedly caused an increase in crime in the neighborhood.
How might the new EU Commission shape migration policy in the future?
The European Union’s new Commissioners take up their posts on December 1 2019. So how will the EU’s future migration policy shape up under Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her team. InfoMigrants takes a look at what might come to pass in terms of migration to Europe.
Dead and missing after attempt to cross from North Africa to Europe fails
The Spanish coastguard reported four migrants dead and 16 more missing on Wednesday, November 27, after an attempt to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe failed. The migrants were traveling on a small raft that sank near the Spanish enclave Melilla.