Pope Leo heads to Canary Islands to highlight perilous journeys of migrants

"It's hard for me to understand why the human heart is so hard," is the priest's take on toughening attitudes in Europe to migration. "If we do it well, integrate people well, there is nothing bad in it at all. Quite the contrary."

Bakary Jaiju's own route to residency has been eased by a rare opportunity.

Pedro Sánchez's government in Madrid is currently allowing hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants to "regularise" their status, so anyone who arrived before last December can apply for residence and work permits.

Padre Pepe's team are scrambling to help everyone submit their paperwork before the deadline.

The one-off move has been criticised by Spain's opposition.

The conservative Popular Party has condemned an "irresponsible" move that goes against all EU immigration policies. And the far-right Vox party has called it an "invasion" that would attract more migrants to the country and cause the "collapse of the health service, housing and security".

For the Socialist government, though, the move is a mix of the humanitarian, pragmatic and political: with an ageing, shrinking population it needs more workers – like all of Europe.

"We couldn't find local people who wanted to work with us," said Diana del Molino Rodriguez at the Domingo Alonso Group workshop in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Unable to recruit bodywork painters or panel beaters, the car firm hooked up with the local government to hire young migrants once they turn 18 and leave state care.

Molino Rodriguez says they faced fierce criticism initially, with social media comments about people "stealing" Spanish jobs: "It was a really hard thing to do because immigration was not something seen as positive. Nobody was looking at migrants like persons."

Her firm now has around 30 people on its books, including 19-year-old Tiene Lama, who says he's able to send several hundred euros each month back to his family in Ivory Coast.

Dozens of companies, including big hotel chains on the holiday islands, have now signed up to the scheme.

As the Pope pushes against the tide, trying to change the tone on migration, a new EU pact kicks in this week aimed at tightening Europe's borders still further.

The idea is to make it easier to detain and deport those arriving by sea.

For young men like Bakary Jaiju, already prepared to risk everything, it is little deterrent; for human rights groups it brings new fears for asylum seekers and their struggle to be heard.

But it is officials on the Canary Islands, where that policy should play out, who are most damning.

"We have no-one to work in the hotels, drive our buses or work in construction; we don't have masons or mechanics," warns Francis Candil, deputy minister for welfare.

"What we need is a real migration policy that means people from African countries don't have to risk their lives but can come to Europe and have options for work."

"Instead, we have Europe trying to protect itself behind walls - and to expel people."