Canary Islands ask for immigrant aid

MADRID, May 23 (UPI) -- Canary Islands officials are asking the European Union for economic aid to handle a wave of illegal immigration, the Spanish news agency EFE reported Tuesday.

Over the last two weeks, an estimated 2,000 illegal immigrants arrived on the islands.

The regional government has appealed to the Spanish navy to deploy ships to the area to discourage more immigrants from arriving. The islands are a Spanish territory off the northwest coast of Africa.

In recent weeks large groups of migrants from Senegal and elsewhere have arrived on the shores of the islands, straining its healthcare and housing facilities.