The Spanish government plans to transfer 500 migrant children from Ceuta to the Peninsula

MadridThe Ministry of Youth and Childhood is working with the government of Ceuta to transfer up to 500 unaccompanied migrant girls from the autonomous city to the Peninsula, according to ministry sources. This approach is part of a comprehensive reception plan for unaccompanied migrant boys and girls in Ceuta.

The Ministry of the Interior has increased to 2,168 the number of unaccompanied minors already registered in Ceuta. Some of these children (about half a thousand) continue to sleep on the streets, twenty days after fleeing Morocco, in spaces improvised by the residents of Ceuta due to the collapse of institutional reception centers. Others are housed in spaces provided by the autonomous city.

For all these minors, the Spanish government is working on a plan that includes binding and solidarity reception by the autonomous communities, meaning the mandatory distribution of minors who cannot be reunited with their families. The plan, however, also includes family reception and other formulas to speed up reception, according to information from Sira Rego's ministry.

One of these formulas includes a pathway for child protection organizations to take charge of the reception and care of the most vulnerable profiles, including girls; without the need to transfer guardianship to the autonomous communities, which are the ones with competencies over the reception of unaccompanied migrant minors. "At this moment, this pathway is being urgently worked on for a specific number of minors, estimated at approximately 500 [girls], although this may vary during the process," they explain from the Ministry of Childhood and Youth.

Of all the migrant girls currently in Ceuta, there are about 350 being received in two public schools in Ceuta, for whom the government of the autonomous city and the ministry must find an alternative space before the start of the school year. These were the first spaces made available due to the collapse of institutional reception centers, which also house several girls. Other girls continue to be in places improvised by the residents of Ceuta, such as the sports center in the La Reina neighborhood, on the outskirts of the city.

Whatever the case, the priority, as is usual, is the family reunification of minors in their country of origin with their parents. For this reason, a specialized team from the Ministry of Childhood has relocated to Ceuta permanently to help accelerate procedures. This team includes social educators, psychologists, and pedagogues, among other profiles. The Federation of Entities with Emancipation Projects (FEPA) already pointed out to ARA that this assessment "could be done by other communities. The entities [in Ceuta] are overwhelmed".