"The majority of migrant minors want to stay in Spain and will stay there": the warning from the Minister of Childhood to the PP

BarcelonaThe Minister of Youth and Children, Sira Rego, was firm this Monday regarding the situation of migrant minors living in poor conditions on the streets of Ceuta. In an interview with Cadena Ser, she estimated their numbers to be between 500 and 700 and ruled out that, as demanded by the PP and Vox, the majority would return to Morocco with their families. "No, I believe the majority want to stay in Spain. And they will stay," she emphasized.

Rego's words contrast even with the messages from the last few weeks from the PSOE, which has claimed the supposed good collaboration of Morocco for the return of these minors to their homes. The minister clarified that in the coming days they will have the first files ready to request family reunifications, but she warned: "It is not usually common for us to have a fluid response from Morocco".

Nevertheless, she accused the Ceutan government of Juan Jesús Vivas of "playing politics" with the minors who arrived in the city and described as "outrageous" the refusal of the right-wing parties to distribute their reception among other communities. "There is a law that protects them [...] and, above all, in the cases of children fleeing from great violence, the obligation of society is to protect them".

The minister's warning comes as the Spanish right and far-right are focused on turning the crisis in Ceuta into the final blow to Pedro Sánchez's government. That is why the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, will make his fourth visit to the autonomous city this Monday since the mass entry of migrants on July 30. And he will do so, furthermore, alongside the president of the European PP, Manfred Weber, with whom he will illustrate his calls to "Europeanize" the Spanish enclave in North Africa.

Feijóo, who will make this visit while Pedro Sánchez struggles to shift the week's media attention to the international stage and the dangers of AI, will land in Ceuta amidst a climate of growing tension in the city—with protests and clashes this Sunday at the port—and rumors of a new attempt at mass entry. As pointed out by Moroccan media such as Le Desk, the Spanish embassy in Morocco has alerted of "calls for new attempts at mass entry on September 23 [this Wednesday], the day of the legislative elections" in Morocco.

In an interview this morning on Catalunya Ràdio, the Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, admitted that messages have been detected on social media calling for people to take advantage of the Moroccan police forces' focus on the elections to cross the border, where Rabat is said to have reinforced security deployment with at least 3,000 troops, according to El País.

In this context, the embassy has reinforced in recent days the messages on social media in which it warns that "entering Spain irregularly through Ceuta and Melilla does not grant the right to access the Peninsula, to remain in Spain, or to circulate freely throughout the EU". "Do not be misled by disinformation", remarks the diplomatic mission's profile in a thread on Friday on X.

Albares has also acknowledged this strengthening of the campaign against disinformation, both on social media and through the Moroccan press, but has stated that he does not believe the messages calling to cross the border are "catching on". "There were already messages for August 15th and other dates", he said.

Predictably, this will be one of the messages that the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, will deliver today, who will also be in Ceuta this afternoon, where he will visit the temporary reception and identification camp for migrants installed at the port, from where asylum or expulsion processes are to be processed.

Protests and clashes at the port

It remains to be seen what the reception for the minister will be after Feijóo's visit and in the midst of rising tension over the situation in the city. Without going any further, dozens of people gathered on Sunday at the port to protest against the arrival of the Navarrese group Negu Gorriak / Right to Shelter, which had announced it would travel to the city to offer humanitarian aid. And the protest ended with clashes with the police.

During the protest, several demonstrators threw eggs and stones at vehicles. One of the cars attacked was that of Ceuta Ja! deputy Julia Ferreras, which was left destroyed. Ferreras has reported the events to the police, who intervened with riot control agents and fired rubber bullets into the air. Albares has condemned the assault on the deputy and has attributed the "violence" against the deputy to the "disinformation" and "manipulation" of the far right.