Pope Leo’s three-day pastoral visit to the Canary Islands, which concluded on Tuesday, has drawn renewed attention to the European Union’s southern maritime border, as the archipelago experiences a sustained increase in irregular migration. The Pope’s itinerary included a mass in Las Palmas and a meeting with rescue workers on the island of El Hierro, a point of arrival for dozens of migrant boats each month. His presence has amplified calls for a coordinated EU response to the humanitarian and security implications of the Atlantic migration route.
The visit comes at a time when the UK, though geographically distant, faces parallel pressures. Home Office figures released last week show a 12 per cent rise in small boat crossings in the English Channel compared to the same period last year, with over 18,000 arrivals recorded since January. While the Canary Islands route primarily affects Spain, UK officials have acknowledged the interconnected nature of European migration flows. A Foreign Office spokesperson noted that “events on Europe’s periphery have a direct bearing on our own border security.”
The Pope’s message of compassion and shared responsibility chafes against the UK’s recent legislative push to deter arrivals. The Illegal Migration Act, passed in July, empowers the government to detain and remove those entering irregularly, with Rwanda as a proposed destination. Critics argue that the policy undermines the humanitarian principles the Pope championed in the Canaries. Speaking at a refugee centre in Tenerife, the Pontiff said: “We cannot build walls of indifference. We must build bridges of solidarity.”
Yet the practical challenges are stark. Spanish authorities report that arrivals to the Canaries have surged by 56 per cent in the first eight months of 2023, straining local resources. The UK’s Border Force has similarly warned of capacity issues at processing centres in Kent. Intelligence assessments suggest that shifting smuggling routes, influenced by weather patterns and enforcement actions in the central Mediterranean, are driving the increase on both the Atlantic and Channel routes.
For the UK government, the Pope’s visit forces a recalibration of public messaging. Officials have consistently framed border security as a matter of national sovereignty and legal deterrence. But the moral authority of the Vatican, combined with the visible human cost in the Canaries, complicates that narrative. A senior Conservative backbencher, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted: “It’s uncomfortable when the Pope takes the other side of the argument. But our policy is driven by what works, not what sounds nice.”
The long-term implications for UK border strategy remain uncertain. The Rwanda scheme has yet to see a single deportation, blocked by legal challenges. Meanwhile, the EU is negotiating a new migration pact that could harmonise asylum procedures across member states, though Spain has called for more burden-sharing for front-line countries like the Canaries. Downing Street has signalled interest in bilateral returns agreements, but progress has been slow.
Pope Leo’s visit did not directly reference British policy. But his choice of the Canary Islands, a territory that has become a symbol of Europe’s migration dilemma, served as a pointed reminder that the issue transcends national borders. For the UK, the lesson may be that sovereignty alone cannot insulate it from the pressures faced by its neighbours. As one Foreign Office analyst put it: “We are all Canary Islands now.”
