Number of irregular immigrants reaching Spain rises in 2015

The number of irregular immigrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea to arrive at the coast of Spain rose by 16.7 percent from 4,552 to 5,312 during 2015, according to figures published by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior on Wednesday.

The Interior Ministry highlighted that the arrival of 760 more immigrants to the Spanish coast in 2015 is in line with the global tendency of irregular immigrants from Africa.

Of those 760 extra, 187 reached the coast of mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands, while the majority (570) sailed to the Canary Islands, which are situated off the west coast of Africa.

The Spanish North-African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla also saw an increased number of immigrants with 11,624 arriving in 2015, 4,139 more than in 2014.

These people made their way into the enclaves either by swimming from Morocco, by hiding in vehicles or by scaling the frontier fences, although there was an important reduction in people attempting the final option.

Of the 11,624 immigrants, 7,189 were refugees from Syria, while 4,435 proceeded from other countries. This contrasts with the 2014 figures when 3,305 Syrian refugees were able to enter Ceuta and Melilla, compared to 4,180 from other countries.

2015 saw Spain repatriate 20,091 immigrants to their homelands, 4.3 percent less than 2014, while 6,869 people were expelled from Spain (5,539 of whom were qualified as delinquents with "numerous penal antecedents"); 827 less than in the previous year. Endit