Refugee rescue ship arrives in Spain with 87 people on board

A refugee rescue ship from the Catalan NGO Proactiva Open Arms docked in Algeciras, south of Spain, with 87 migrants on board, including 12 minors, who were saved from drowning in the Mediterranean over a week ago.

The Spanish government offered a safe harbor after Italy rejected to receive the ship in its ports. Matteo Salvini, the interior minister and leader of the anti-immigration League party, posted a tweet mocking the NGO and urging them to go “anywhere but Italy.”

In a policy shift, the Spanish government will not grant a temporary residence permit to the newcomers, like it did with the 630 migrants on board of the Aquarius rescue ship.