Strong opposition is building to the immigrant reception camp that the central government is setting up in the old Cartagena Naval Hospital, according to the local Executive and the Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Cartagena (Favcac).

The Mayor, Noelia Arroyo, has said that she will speak to the Secretary of State for Migration, conveying the concern of local residents about this humanitarian facility that is about to be opened.

The president of the Favcac, Tomás Sánchez, said, “the facility they have chosen does not meet the conditions required to establish a camp and they should look for other locations”.

The mayor added that Cartagena already has “serious problems” in dealing with the illegal immigrants who arrive in the area by boat , so “it does not make much sense that instead of solving a problem that we already have, they are making it worse by concentrating even more immigrants in the area.”

The Confederation of Business Organisations of Cartagena (COEC) and the Chamber of Commerce have also shown their rejection of the installation at the Naval Hospital, through a joint statement.