• Migration Delegation assumes contact with Ayuso due to the arrival of immigrants in the face of the silence of the Ministry: "It is not enough just with a call"

On Carabanchel Alto Avenue lies the General Arteaga barracks. A not at all high-sounding enclave in the southwest of Madrid that, for a few days, has been losing some of the anonymity that it might have left. And it has done so because there, as confirmed yesterday by the Government delegate, Francisco Martín, work is being carried out to prepare the civil part for the arrival of migrants from the Canary Islands, which will take about two weeks. It will have a capacity of between 400 and 450 people and will serve as a refuge for these sub-Saharan Africans for as long as they need. The Alcalá de Henares barracks as a destination is also being analysed at the moment. "There are 150 migrants in Pozuelo and less than 100 in the city of Madrid. I don't think there is any need to raise major alarms about this," the delegate said yesterday. "It will be a staggered arrival and more people will join in the coming weeks," he said at noon.

A few hours earlier, after the Governing Board of the Palacio de Cibeles, José Luis Martínez-Almeida appeared together with the Deputy Mayor, Inmaculada Sanz, and the Delegate of Finance, Engracia Hidalgo, on the occasion of the launch of the City Council's tax ordinances for next year. Almeida revealed another morning conversation with the government delegate (as also happened on Wednesday) and requested more complete information on the arrival of migrants in the city. "You have to find the best place that doesn't cause problems. To find the best scenario for both immigrants and the city of Madrid," claimed the Madrid councillor, who offered collaboration on security issues. In theory, these issues will be dealt with in the daily dialogue that has begun these days.

However, Cibeles does not end up scaring away the uncertainty. "Information doesn't flow, there's no concrete data," they tell this newspaper from their corridors. Migration and security matters are out of the hands of the City Council, which does not know how and when the arrivals will be executed. Through the Red Cross and other NGOs, they know that some of the migrants who will arrive in Carabanchel are already staying in hostels in the capital. But there is concern about the lack of a constant flow of information and taking the initiative in this new migratory episode. The costs, however, are entirely borne by the State. "We have not been asked for anything," they maintain from the Consistory.

"Prevention is always better"

"It's always better to be safe. We have to send a message of tranquility to the citizens," Almeida reflected yesterday. But it will be the National Police who will be in charge of managing this operation while the presence of migrants in the capital continues. There is concern that many of those who now stay in hostels may move around unchecked and become unlocated. Hence, the Municipal Police will remain vigilant, although it will not be a matter that depends on them. "The City Council is available, but it doesn't seem that they are going to ask us for anything," they say from Cibeles.

Isabel Díaz Ayuso, president of the Community, also raised her voice yesterday: "At one point they are there, but they are not going to be confined, obviously, you can't. Then I don't know if they'll go through the streets, if they'll wander, we don't know what they're going to do with them." A reflection that drew criticism from the Government, specifically from the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, José Luis Escrivá, who accused her of making a xenophobic and political use of the issue.

Yesterday, Francisco Martín, who from now on will report daily with Almeida, praised the capacity of the Community of Madrid to welcome migrants. "It is a region of solidarity and we are going to be up to the task of welcoming people who have this situation, for as long as it takes," he acknowledged. There are a few more chapters ahead for a story that has just begun.

  • José Luis Martínez-Almeida
  • Articles Carlos Guisasola
  • Isabel Díaz Ayuso