World
Spanish Government Backtracking
— 3 mins read
500 migrant children are heading to the mainland
The Spanish government will move 500 unaccompanied migrant children from Ceuta to the mainland. The decision reverses its own pledge that everyone who entered the territory illegally would be sent back to Morocco.
Spain's Ministry of Youth and Children announced the plan on 19 August, calling it an extraordinary measure. It will prioritise the most vulnerable children, girls in particular, according to the Guardian.
What the minister promised two weeks ago
An estimated 70,000 people crossed from Morocco into Ceuta, a Spanish territory on the north African coast, on 30 July. Most were Moroccan nationals, with some from sub-Saharan Africa. Many swam around the border barriers. At least 75 people died in the crossing, according to BBC News.
Spanish authorities say around 70,000 of them returned to Morocco within days. Several thousand remain, including more than 1,000 unaccompanied children.
On 13 August, interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said: 'Anyone who illegally enters Ceuta or Melilla knows they will be sent back because Spain and Morocco work together to this end. They will not reach the peninsula, nor the European continent and nor will they remain indefinitely in Ceuta or Melilla.'
Six days later, the government announced the transfers.
Brussels and Morocco both say send them back
The plan was revealed hours after the European Commission said EU law requires all illegal migrants remaining in Ceuta to be returned to Morocco. Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert confirmed this includes unaccompanied minors, Euronews reported.
Morocco has said it is ready to cooperate on returning the children, subject to identification and family reunification checks, according to Reuters.
Spanish domestic law still applies, however. The state has a duty of care to unaccompanied minors until they turn 18, and the latest EU migration pact has not yet been written into Spanish law.
They will not reach the peninsula, nor the European continent and nor will they remain indefinitely in Ceuta or Melilla.
The opposition People's Party rejected the plan. Deputy finance spokesperson Juan Bravo said: 'If Morocco has asked for the children to be returned and if Europe says the illegal immigrants should all be returned, whether children or not, what more does the government need?'
The regions that do not want them
Several Spanish regions run jointly by the People's Party and Vox, including Andalusia, Aragon, Castile and León, and Extremadura, have resisted taking their quota of children, Reuters reported.
To get around that resistance, the government plans for charities and child protection agencies to take charge of the children without transferring guardianship to regional governments. The government has not named the groups involved.
A care system already at breaking point
Ceuta's child protection facilities have capacity for about 90 minors. Roughly 1,100 now need care. The central government has sent Ceuta €25 million (c.£21 million) in emergency funding, money that comes from Spanish taxpayers, according to US News.
Aid groups, including Save the Children, warn that hundreds of children are sleeping rough in Ceuta, some as young as seven, and are at risk of abuse and exploitation. Residents have been providing food and handouts.
Spain's Ministry of Inclusion and Migration says 21,104 people aged 16 to 23 were under state guardianship as of March. About 3,500 were under 17. Half were from Morocco. Girls made up about 8% of the total.
Rubén Pérez Correa, secretary of state for children, has been in Ceuta since Sunday to oversee the plan. The People's Party says its regions will comply with their legal obligations, despite opposition from Vox.
