The repatriation of minors, "neither easy nor quick": eight in a year and none to Morocco
Social entities in Ceuta warn that there are about 4,000 young people without attention or protection from the administrations.
BarcelonaThe Spanish government has assured that the safe return of Moroccan minors who entered irregularly into Ceuta on July 30 is a priority. However, with the law in hand, the repatriation of young people has special protection compared to the ordinary procedures applied to adults. In fact, in recent years, returns with biological families are the absolute exception and only occur in specific cases. Furthermore, according to the prosecution, none have been processed to Morocco "due to the lack of cooperation" from the Alawite authorities. Not going any further, in 2024 only eight children were repatriated: four from Colombia, three from Romania, and one from France.
Two weeks after thousands of people entered, 1,898 minors without any adult reference have already entered the protection system, but humanitarian organizations raise the figure and estimate that there are 4,000 unattended, who, in the best of cases, survive thanks to the self-organization of the neighborhood of the African city and lack basic necessities. The hundred places for migrant children that Ceuta has are "completely overwhelmed" and the facilities set up in schools or industrial warehouses to deal with the emergency are entirely insufficient, points out the Save the Children program director, Raúl Arnaiz, who warns of the risk of "tensions in the neighborhoods" appearing if the situation of minors "wandering the streets" continues over time.
"The mothers of Ceuta who are helping these children are exhausted, they are making a great effort, that's why we appeal for urgency for the administrations to provide more facilities" for dignified and safe reception, explains Arnaiz. The entities on the ground explain that among the unaccompanied minors there are very young children (seven, eight years old) and a large number of girls, especially vulnerable groups, targets of sexual and child exploitation mafias.
Little Moroccan cooperation
But, despite the urgency shown by Madrid and – for the first time Rabat – to return the minors, this is not an immediate operation, even though the Spanish and Moroccan governments have had a bilateral agreement since 2013 to precisely speed up the return to the biological family. However, it has been shown that the text is entirely insufficient, as the Supreme Court determined in a ruling in January 2024 when it declared that the return of 55 Moroccan minors who entered from Ceuta in August 2021 was completely illegal due to "absolute non-compliance" with the procedures established in the immigration law. The judicial record has ended up setting the criteria for the treatment of children, rejecting collective returns and the demand for an individualized file supervised by the prosecutor's offices.
From Ceuta, Arnaiz admits that family reunification is "the ideal solution", but immediately qualifies that repatriations of minors are "neither easy nor fast", as the identification procedures for both the children and their families must first be completed to determine if they "are protective" and can take care of them. "The minor must consent that they want to return and this is not always the case because there are many who flee from their families. We have girls who do not want to return under any circumstances", details the head of Save the Children.
When a minor sets foot on Spanish soil without any parent or legal guardian, they come under the guardianship of the regional administration, which must provide them with basic care until they reach the age of majority. For the juvenile prosecutor's office to issue the final report, it is essential to have the testimony and opinion of the young person. Above all, "the best interests of the minor" are taken into account, explains Arnaiz, that is, their well-being at all levels to avoid putting them at risk. Finally, it is the Spanish government delegation in the autonomous community that is responsible for resolving whether the return can be made.
Social and humanitarian organizations also call for, along with basic aid for food, shelter, hygiene, and cleaning, psychological support to be at the center for both migrant children and the supportive people assisting them. Arnaiz recounts that these children do not usually immediately explain if they have suffered sexual abuse, nor can they be asked directly so as not to revictimize them; instead, the bond must be worked on first to create an atmosphere of trust.