With children sleeping outdoors and shelters far beyond capacity, officials face pressure to act while legal questions complicate every decision.
Spain’s left-leaning government plans to transfer some of the migrant minors from overcrowded reception centers in the enclave of Ceuta to the mainland within the next few weeks, easing the migration crisis in the small border city following last week’s escalation at the border.
According to authorities, as of July 30, around 72,000 migrants had illegally crossed into Ceuta from Morocco by sea and land, with dozens dying during the assault. Most later returned, but hundreds of unaccompanied minors remain in Ceuta.
Today, Youth Minister Sira Rego said that 1,342 minors had been registered so far and that additional staff would be brought in to support the effort. She referred to distressing images of children sleeping on the streets of Ceuta and said that two schools had been opened, while other facilities would be assessed as potential reception centers.
I think it may take only a few weeks before we see minors being transferred to and received on the mainland
– Sira Rego
“We are prioritizing girls, as well as boys and girls under the age of 13,” she said, describing the situation in Ceuta as still difficult but gradually returning to normal.
Far-right forces have raised objections to transferring the minors to mainland Spain, where responsibility for receiving them lies with regional authorities.
Legal obstacles
Morocco has said it is ready to cooperate with Spain and other European partners on the return of unaccompanied minors who crossed into Ceuta last week.
Spain will assess Morocco’s proposal to return the children on a case-by-case basis, Rego said. Citing diplomatic sources in Morocco, Spain’s EFE news agency reported that administrative and judicial obstacles in Spain were complicating the returns.
“There are no obstacles in Spain,” Rego said. “What Spain will do is protect the rights of the children,” she added, explaining that specialized teams would assess each child to determine their best interests and that family reunification would be pursued wherever possible.
According to Rego, the profile of migrant minors has changed over the past five years compared with the last major influx in 2021, when around 8,000 people crossed the border. “More underage girls have arrived, as well as more very young children,” she said.
The head of Ceuta’s local government, Juan Jesus Vivas, said that the city’s modest facilities had been able to accommodate up to 90 children, but were now overcrowded with around 1,100 minors who had arrived before the assault. NGOs and local groups claim that the total number of minors could reach several thousand.
Following the latest events involving migrants, local authorities and civil society organizations have stressed the need for long-term coordination among government bodies, local institutions, and international partners to manage the situation and protect children’s rights.