The president of IMAS denounces the lack of clear criteria, the extreme saturation of the system, and the absolute insufficiency of the resources promised by the State
The Minister of Social Welfare and President of the Institut Mallorquí d’Afers Socials (IMAS), Guillermo Sánchez, stated midday to address the suspension of the Sectorial Conference on Childhood and Adolescence and to denounce the “institutional blackmail” by the central government, which has linked funding to the acceptance of unaccompanied migrant minors being relocated to the Balearic Islands.
Sánchez recalled that officials responsible for child protection from the majority of Spain’s autonomous communities did not attend the conference, as they believed their presence would legitimise an unacceptable form of blackmail in which funding was tied to an imposed and arbitrary relocation plan.
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IMAS Rejects Blackmail by the Central Government and Warns It Will Not Accept the Transfer of Minors to Mallorca
“We have not been informed of the criteria behind the distribution plan, and despite the acknowledged extreme saturation of residential care services, they still intend to send minors to the islands,” said Sánchez, warning that Mallorca will not accept any transfers.
According to the IMAS president, Mallorca’s child protection services are currently operating at ten times their intended capacity, with current overcrowding costing €20 million annually, while the €2 million promised by the Ministry “doesn’t even cover one month” of care for this group.
“We will not accept imposed transfers or conditional funding. Children’s rights cannot be used as political bargaining chips,” Sánchez asserted.
IMAS reaffirmed its commitment to the best interests of the child, while also calling on the central government to take responsibility for emergencies with its resources, especially in territories such as the Balearic Islands, which are part of an established and overwhelmed migration route.