Spain plans to transfer around 500 unaccompanied minors from the North African enclave of Ceuta to the mainland, following the mass crossing of tens of thousands of migrants by land and sea on July 30.
Officials from the Ministry of Youth and Children confirmed to public broadcaster RTVE on Wednesday (August 5) that the provisional figure includes the children considered most vulnerable after the mass border crossing from Morocco.
Migration Minister Elma Saiz said the transferred children would be placed under the care of child protection organizations on the mainland. Under the plan, they will be distributed across Spain's autonomous regions, placed with foster families, or reunited with relatives.
The Ceuta authorities have accepted the transfer as a “special measure,” but still regard the deportation of all illegal immigrants, including minors, as a “priority objective,” according to El Pais.
The influx has overwhelmed Ceuta's child protection system to over 4,600% of its designed capacity, with only 29 places available but currently housing around 1,350 children, according to RTVE.
Youth and Children Minister Sira Rego, from the pro-immigration government, rejected the deportation of children, calling it “excessive.” She wrote on social media: “Returns must be voluntary and accompanied by protection measures.” The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) also warned that hundreds of children in Ceuta are facing “insecurity and poor sanitary conditions.”
Meanwhile, the plan to transfer children to the mainland has drawn criticism from the opposition People's Party (PP). PP official Elias Bendodo said: “All illegal immigrants must return to Morocco according to the law, including adults and minors.” The leader of the far-right Vox party, Santiago Abascal, opposed the plan on X: “Not a single euro of Spanish money for illegal immigrants, for invaders, for human trafficking gangs, or for Morocco.”
In response, Rego accused the PP of “pursuing the racist positions” of Vox. The incident comes after at least 100 people died during the crossing from Morocco to Ceuta, many drowning or being crushed against the breakwater while swimming to the enclave, according to Ceuta's leader, Juan Jesus Vivas.
