The country is facing significant flows of illegal immigrants, mainly from sub-Saharan African countries
Mauritanian Prime Minister El Moctar Ould Djay revealed this Saturday that he will install an “electronic belt” around the country’s capital, Nouakchott, to prevent the illegal entry of migrants.
All border crossings will now be equipped with the necessary technical mechanisms to identify the access of any foreigner to the national territory, explained Djay, in an assessment of his government’s action in 2024 and plans for 2025.
Mauritania is facing significant flows of illegal immigrants, mainly from sub-Saharan African countries.
Many of the migrants have the ultimate goal of reaching the Spanish Canary Islands by illegally crossing the Atlantic in improvised boats and a large proportion do not even enter Mauritanian cities, traveling along the coast of this country to escape the surveillance of the coast guard.
The mechanisms that are intended to be implemented will give authorities the means and conditions to expel, in accordance with current regulations, migrants who violate the legislation, indicated the prime minister in his report, cited by the Spanish news agency Efe.
Combating illegal immigration will be one of the priorities of government action in 2025, he stated.
Last year, Spain approached the record number of irregular migrant arrivals that the country reached six years ago, with 63,970 entries, an increase of 12.5% compared to 2023, according to a balance made at the beginning of the year by the Ministry of Spanish interior.
In 2018, the country reached an all-time high of irregular entries: 64,298.
Last year, most entries were made by sea and, of these, the vast majority – 73% of the total – were made via the Canary Islands route, through which around 46,843 people attempted to reach Spanish territory, plus 17 % than in the previous year.
This migratory route is considered one of the most dangerous in the world.
Spain, along with Italy, Greece or Malta, is known as one of the “front line” countries in terms of arrivals of irregular migrants to Europe.
