Catalonia is excluded from the distribution of migrant minors but has offered to take in around thirty.

BarcelonaThe Spanish government has already decided where and with what resources the 3,975 unaccompanied foreign minors currently in the Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla awaiting a directive will be relocated. As expected, neither Catalonia nor the Basque Country will be part of this regional distribution due to "the reception efforts made so far." Instead, the majority of these young people will be relocated to Andalusia (677), Madrid (647), and the Valencian Community (571), according to sources from the Ministry of Youth and Children.

These estimates are maximums, and it is possible that not all transfers will be carried out, but government sources assure that the State will cover the costs arising from the reception for at least the first three months with a fund of 100 million euros, the bulk of which will be divided between the Canary Islands (8) (€8.8 million).

The list of regions with the most children in their care is completed by Castilla-La Mancha (320), Galicia (317), Aragon (251), La Rioja (205), Castilla y León (197), Extremadura (159), Cantabria (156), Asturias (118), and the Balearic Islands (49). Regarding funding, the Valencian Community will receive €7.4 million, while Castilla-La Mancha and Galicia will receive €4.1 million each.

Catalonia is not included in the directories because it has already been receiving children for all this time and in previous distributions, which has led its system to a "tense" situation, according to Pedro Sánchez's government. However, the Generalitat has announced its intention to care for at least the same number of children as in other foster care campaigns: 31.

In addition to these 3,000 minors awaiting relocation, there are 850 asylum seekers from the Canary Islands who will be taken in by the state's international protection network, in accordance with the order issued by the Supreme Court last March.

Complaints against Catalonia and the Basque Country

Ministry sources have emphasized that this youth referral system aims to ensure a balance between the different regions, taking into account prior efforts and the number of places created. "Until now, there have been enormous gaps between the different systems, with some having done a good job in advance and others not. And this royal decree aims to correct these historical differences," they explain. The Spanish government has expressed its gratitude for the willingness of Catalonia, which "has voluntarily decided to participate in the reception process," and has emphasized that it has been working for months to convince other autonomous regions, especially those governed by the People's Party (PP), which are imposing a "systematic blockade."

Reactions have been swift, and the majority have been against, precisely, the exclusion of Catalonia and the Basque Country from the distribution. From Madrid, the regional minister for Family, Youth and Social Affairs, Ana Dávila-Ponce, has accused the ministry of "cooking up subjective criteria to exclude the illegal distribution of minors in the Basque Country and Catalonia, only taking into account criteria to save Sanchismo", and has pointed out in a message to X that the forced services are "unconstitutional".

The Xunta de Galicia has directly described the fact of having to take care of another 317 minors as an "unfair and arbitrary imposition", since "the autonomous protection system is already 108% overcrowded", and has assured that "Galicia will not accept" the decision.

In this regard, the Valencian Generalitat has also exploited the "collapse" of the system after having cared for more than 900 unaccompanied minors last year and has denounced that Sánchez is engaging in "institutional blackmail" to force them to accept 571 more young people "in exchange for maintaining their support."

The president of the Balearic government, Marga Prohens (PP), also criticized the executive's recognition of "the overcrowding of reception centers" on the islands and, despite this, includes them in the distribution. "We will oppose it and will resort to all means at our disposal, such as appealing to a decree in the Constitutional Court, to prevent it from being implemented. We can't take it anymore," she said.