MadridEighteen days after the entry of tens of thousands of people from Morocco into Ceuta, the European Commission has argued that all migrants irregularly present in the Spanish enclave must be returned, including the more than two thousand minors who have entered without adult relatives. Brussels argues that European Union law also provides for their return. “We continue to insist that the expectation is that all those who are irregularly in Ceuta will be returned,” said the spokesperson for the Commission on Internal Affairs, Markus Lammert, this Tuesday at a press conference, who welcomed the statements by the Spanish government according to which no one irregularly present in Ceuta will be transferred to the Peninsula.
Asked whether “all” also includes minors, despite the special protection granted to them by EU law, Lammert replied that “this is regulated by EU law” and that the return directive approved in June includes provisions for the return of migrants in an irregular situation, “including unaccompanied minors”. “Therefore, this is also covered by EU law,” he added, insisting that the expectation of the Community executive is that “all those who are irregularly in Ceuta will be returned” and that the Spanish and Moroccan authorities will work to ensure that these returns occur “effectively”.
However, the regulation that contemplates this – which was approved in June by the European Parliament – will not enter into force until it is ratified by the Council of Europe, where the 27 member states of the Union are represented. Morocco has already offered to collaborate in the return of all minors (Spanish authorities have identified 2,168 so far) and Lammert has reiterated Brussels’ offer to “facilitate and support” this process. A technical team from the EU’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs visited the enclave last week to gain first-hand knowledge of the situation on the ground and gather information on needs, particularly for unaccompanied minors.
However, beyond EU regulations, Spanish legislation establishes that before deciding on repatriation, the minor’s family circumstances must be studied and the possibility of family reunification assessed. When a minor sets foot on Spanish soil without a parent or legal guardian, they come under the guardianship of the autonomous administration, which must provide them with basic care until they reach the age of majority. Thus, it is necessary to locate their family and open individual files that include reports from child protection services and the Public Prosecutor’s Office. In this process, it is essential to have the testimony and opinion of the young person, as the law stipulates that, above all else, “the best interests of the child” – that is, their well-being at all levels – must be taken into account to avoid putting them at risk. Finally, it is the Spanish government delegation in the autonomous community that is responsible for deciding whether repatriation can proceed.
Children still unattended
The number of minors identified by the National Police has been updated this Tuesday: between July 30 and August 18, agents have located, identified, and placed 2,168 unaccompanied minors at the disposal of the Ceuta government. Meanwhile, Ceuta continues to look for places to accommodate at least 500 migrant minors unaccompanied, explain local government sources to ARA. “We continue to look for locations for the minors,” they indicate.
These are the minors who would not be in any facility provided by the Ceuta government, which is the one with jurisdiction over unaccompanied minors, just as autonomous communities do. Two public schools were already opened where the girls who arrived alone were housed. Sources from the Ceuta government indicate that there are about 350. However, the aim is for these schools to be free for the start of the school year. That is, in September.
Other minors have been able to be housed in the minors’ centers that the Ceuta government already had, and which are well above their capacity: Ceuta has gone from housing 180 unaccompanied minors in mid-July to exceeding a thousand. However, there is a number of children who continue to sleep outdoors, in spaces that some residents of the periphery have improvised, or are housed by the neighbors themselves. There are at least 500 minors, indicate the Ceuta government.
The Spanish government wants to prioritize family reunification and, if it cannot occur, they will be placed under the guardianship of the administration. Here, the distribution among the autonomous communities will come into play. The process, however, will not be immediate. For now, a Sectoral Conference has been convened for August 27, where the only item on the agenda is, for now, the approval of an extraordinary allocation of 25 million euros for the autonomous city. The Spanish government will push for the situation of minors in Ceuta to be discussed, but no concrete figures will be put on the table because the individualized bureaucratic process with each child has just begun.
In fact, the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) has requested the Superior Court of Justice of Andalusia to process the incorporation of two magistrates to reinforce the on-call service and the position with competencies in violence against women in Ceuta, and has conveyed to the Ministry of Justice the need to also add civil servant staff and a lawyer from the Administration of Justice with experience for the duration of this exceptional situation. To date, 96 preliminary investigations for death, 23 for detention and judicial placement, and 15 more urgent investigations have been processed.
Four provisional spaces for adults
On the other hand, the Spanish government has begun to open up four spaces for those adult migrants who remain in the autonomous city, surviving in improvised settlements, many of whom are asylum seekers. Among these spaces is part of the Loma Colmenar car park, a plot of land ceded by the government of Ceuta and which is usually used for temporary parking of cars wishing to cross the border into Morocco when it is congested. This happens, for example, during the Strait Crossing operation.
The other three spaces are owned by the Spanish government. These are the facilities at the Hípica, within the Military Socio-Cultural Sports Centre. Added to this is the old football pitch at the Cavalry barracks and finally the Guano space, also linked to the army. The ministry does not specify how many people there will be in each space, although the Loma Colmenar car park plot will be the largest. The bulk of the people who will be accommodated there will be those found on Trampolín beach. Here, a thousand migrants from different African countries, from Sudan to Yemen, Niger or Egypt, have been demanding for days to be able to process their international protection application. In fact, in recent hours they have organized themselves to pressure the Spanish government, which, for now, has already registered around 500 applications, according to Interior.
The army is the one setting up these four provisional and temporary spaces – they are basically tents with bunk beds – and it is expected to do so “quickly”, according to sources from the Spanish government delegation in Ceuta, although they do not specify within what timeframe. This Monday evening the installation had already begun and it is hoped that the first people will be able to enter by Wednesday.
The Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration estimates that 1,500 people will be able to find shelter there, but the number of adult migrants on the street is higher – it is assumed that some will be returned to Morocco. In any case, the head of this department, Elma Saiz, has not ruled out the possibility of increasing the number of places later on.
They are the first large reception spaces for adult migrants settling in Ceuta to respond to the humanitarian emergency. They arrive after weeks in which efforts have focused on border reinforcement and control, the identification and registration of people – especially minors – and their return to Morocco. In fact, until just before August 15, when both sides of the border were completely sealed to prevent a new entry, returns were maintained with speed – police sources indicated to ARA that about 600 migrants returned “voluntarily”. Now, the trickle of people leaving Ceuta continues, explain sources from the Ministry of the Interior, but less.
A center to resolve returns
In parallel, the Ministry of the Interior is finalizing the opening of a Temporary Center for Foreigner Attention (CATE) next to the port of Ceuta, ministry sources tell ARA, for those adult foreigners who have entered irregularly and for whom the police must resolve the deportation file within the 72 hours set by the immigration law.
During this period of time, the police must register and confirm the person’s identity and from there initiate the individual procedure for their deportation. The migrant, however, has the right to appeal the decision and must have access to legal assistance and a translator. Sources from the Ministry of the Interior explain that the space aims to make the process take place in more “dignified” conditions. If the 72 hours are exceeded, there is a possibility that the migrant will be transferred to a detention center for foreigners (CIE) for 60 days, but only if a judicial resolution indicates it.