Following a mass migration event on 30 July in which an estimated 70,000 people crossed into Ceuta, a Spanish territory on the north African coast, the Spanish government announced it will permit around 500 unaccompanied migrant children to transfer to mainland Spain. While the majority of those who entered Ceuta have since returned to Morocco, Spanish law requires the state to maintain care for unaccompanied minors until they reach 18 years of age.
This decision represents a policy reversal from statements made on 13 August by Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who had declared that individuals entering Ceuta or Melilla illegally would be returned and would not reach European territory. The government’s youth ministry, working with Ceuta authorities, is developing an emergency arrangement in which non-governmental organizations and child protection agencies will assume responsibility for the most vulnerable children, particularly girls, without transferring guardianship to Spain’s regional governments. Secretary of State for Children Rubén Pérez Correa has been present in Ceuta since Sunday to address conditions in which hundreds of children are living on streets and depending on donations from residents.
The issue remains politically contentious, with several regions governed by the conservative People’s party and far-right Vox expressing resistance to accepting their designated portions of the children. The European Commission has stated that under EU law all remaining migrants in Ceuta should be returned to Morocco, including unaccompanied minors, creating legal ambiguity. The People’s party has criticized the government plan, arguing that children should be reunited with their families and questioning why the government does not simply return them as requested by Morocco and directed by European law.
The conflicting positions stem partly from Spain’s recent European immigration pact not yet being incorporated into national legislation, leaving Spain’s existing laws on unaccompanied minors in effect. According to the ministry of inclusion and migration, approximately 21,104 people aged 16-23 were under state guardianship as of last March, with roughly 3,500 under age 17. Approximately half originated from Morocco, and girls represented about 8 percent of the total population under guardianship.
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