Sánchez points to Ceuta for the situation of the minors: "Let them ask Vivas"

MadridTwo and a half months after the massive arrival of immigrants in Ceuta, the crisis in the autonomous city continues to set the agenda and the attacks in Spanish politics. However, as has happened in previous major catastrophes that Pedro Sánchez's executive has had to manage in coordination with PP-led regions, such as the DANA in the Valencian Community or the summer fires in Madrid and Castile and León, the debate is turning into a jurisdictional clash. A clear example is the situation of the minor immigrants who are still in Ceuta, of whom there are currently 2,084 registered and between 700 and 1,000 wandering the streets. Regarding the delicate situation a month and a half later, Sánchez was categorical: "Ask [Juan Jesús] Vivas about it," he said in statements while leaving the Congress hemicycle. In other words, the Spanish president is directly pointing at the government of Ceuta.

La Moncloa, therefore, is going on the attack against the Ceuta president, Juan Jesús Vivas, as sources from the Spanish government consider that he is no longer concerned with recovering normalcy but with defending the PP's talking points. The Popular Party members have come out in force against Sánchez for this response, and party sources have accused him of shirking responsibility in a "frivolous" and "insensitive" manner. "Spain is not with him. Without principles, without shame, amoral," criticized the PP spokesperson in Congress, Ester Muñoz, on X.

While the PP maintains that the problem is the Spanish government's lack of agility in returns, the executive's thesis is that Alberto Núñez Feijóo wants to use Ceuta to wear down Sánchez and that, for this reason, he is committed to "chronicling" the crisis. In this sense, sources from Moncloa recall that the guardianship of minors is the responsibility of Ceuta and that the Spanish government already approved 25 million euros of additional funding at the beginning of the crisis and is enabling places for reception. For this reason, they ask a question: "Why don't they request the transfer to the peninsula?" A request that is at the discretion of Ceuta, but which annoys the communities governed by the PP and Vox. "It is in the hands of the PP to accelerate it," say these sources.

The Moncloa puts forward the example of Navarre, governed by the Socialists, which has begun to host unaccompanied minor girls in situations of special vulnerability. This is, therefore, a temporary solution while the files are being processed, in which it must be agreed whether family reunification is possible – the collaboration of Morocco is needed – or whether they remain under the guardianship of the State administration. The PP, on the other hand, considers that moving minors to the peninsula "does not solve the problem" and will only serve to generate a pull factor leading to even more arrivals. The Popular Party members demand "the immediate return of all" with an administrative reinforcement of the procedures to do so.

Until now, as explained this Tuesday by the Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, only ten files have been able to be processed, as there has also been another clash with the autonomous community. The new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum requires that there be a legal representative for minors in all procedures, and both administrations were competing over who should provide them. Finally, the State has advanced 2 million euros while waiting for the courts to define the competencies.

Sánchez-Feijóo face to face

Ceuta has also been central to the control session this Wednesday in the chamber, where Pedro Sánchez and Alberto Núñez Feijóo faced each other in a new head-to-head. "Your patriotism is pure facade, it's something you put on and take off," the Spanish president reproached the opposition leader regarding the PP's criticisms of the management of the crisis. "While the European Commission congratulates and recognizes the efforts of the government of Spain, the only thing you do is put sticks in the wheels to solve the problem of Ceuta," he added.

For Feijóo, however, the Spanish government is not doing everything in its power to accelerate the return of the immigrants, who they believe should be removed from Ceuta "immediately." After Morocco sent a pressure letter to several MEPs in which it denied any responsibility for the crisis in Ceuta and committed to the readmission of all the people who entered Spanish territory, Feijóo asked Sánchez if he has already spoken with the Moroccan authorities to execute it. "There are only three options: you do not want to and prefer to make the problem chronic, you are an incompetent, or someone is lying." In his response, Sánchez did not clarify when was the last time he spoke with Rabat and the opposition leader summarized it with the word "shame".

Sources from the Spanish government insist that legally they cannot do what the PP is demanding and recall that after the 2021 crisis there were convictions for prevarication for returning minors in an express manner. They assure that their goal is also the return of all immigrants, but that it must be done following the legal procedure, which implies an individualized file for each one. In the case of adults, those who do not have the right to asylum will return, they say, because Morocco has also committed to accepting them; while in the case of minors they prioritize family reunification. However, on this point they also admit that if it is not possible they will remain under Spanish guardianship.