73% increase in illegal immigrants during 2011 in the Canary Islands

The Canary Islands received a total of 340 illegal immigrants during 2011, an increase of 144 people compared to the previous year (2010), where 196 people arrived illegally in ‘cayuco’ boats. Nationally, in Spain, the illegal immigration by sea saw an increase of 49.8% last year, a total of 5,443 people. These figures show a slight increase but are much lower than previous years, for example, in 2006, 39,180 illegal immigrants arrived by sea in ‘cayucos’.

Last year saw 30,792 people repatriated to their countries of origin from Spain, 2.08% more than in 2010. Of those, 11,092 people were prevented from crossing the Spanish border at ports and airports, representing an increase of 17.3% over 2010.