Tensions in Packed Migrant Shelter on Spain’s Canary Islands

Over 1300 migrants rescued from different boats remain in the port of Arguineguin while being cared for by the Spanish Red Cross and the National Police on the Spanish Canary island of Gran Canaria on Oct. 25, 2020. Desiree Martin/AFP via Getty Images

BARCELONA, Spain—Overwhelmed authorities on the Canary Islands are asking Spain’s government for help amid rising tensions between migrants and police at a crowded, makeshift tent camp for a steady stream of arrivals from West Africa.

Nearly 2,000 migrants live in the facility designed to shelter 400 people on a pier on the island of Gran Canaria, part of the Atlantic archipelago that’s at the end of the busiest—and deadliest—route for those risking their lives to reach Europe by sea.