Overview

• During a May 29 Supreme Court hearing, state lawyers acknowledged that no unaccompanied asylum-seeking minor in the Canary Islands has been evaluated or assisted since the March 25 order, citing missing documentation
• Madrid submitted a provisional protocol this week to transfer over 1,200 minors into the national asylum-accommodation system, but Canary authorities criticized it as unilateral and lacking concrete timelines
• The regional government counts 1,221 unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors in its care, compared with 762 recognized by the central government, highlighting a deep data discrepancy
• Canary spokesperson Alfonso Cabello accused the central government of lacking political will and deliberately delaying implementation of the Supreme Court’s directive
• The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling soon that could compel Madrid to detail specific measures, resources and deadlines for protecting these vulnerable children