Spain’s Ministry of Youth and Children is working to transfer around 500 girls from Ceuta to the Iberian Peninsula as part of a comprehensive reception plan for unaccompanied migrant minors in the occupied city, according to Spanish news outlet Europa Press.
“Work is currently underway urgently on this option for a specific number of minors, currently estimated at around 500, although this figure may change during the process,” sources from the youth ministry, led by Sira Rego, told the outlet.
The plan comes following the mass arrival of migrants in Ceuta in late July and includes a draft royal decree-law on binding and solidarity-based reception by all autonomous communities, as well as foster care and other measures to speed up the reception process.
It also includes a route that would allow child protection organizations to care for the most vulnerable minors, including girls, in suitable facilities in Spain without transferring guardianship to the autonomous communities.
The source noted that the plan is being developed by Secretary of State for Youth and Children Ruben Perez, who has been working on it in Ceuta since last Sunday.
The move comes after Spain’s central government had insisted from the outset that no migrant would be transferred to the Iberian Peninsula.
“Anyone who illegally enters Ceuta or Melilla knows they will be sent back because Spain and Morocco work together to this end. They will not reach the peninsula, nor the European continent, nor will they remain indefinitely in Ceuta or Melilla,” Spain’s interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, said on August 13.
On Tuesday, the European Commission backed the return of migrants, including unaccompanied minors, from Ceuta to Morocco, saying that such returns are covered by EU law under the EU Return Directive and, soon, the EU Return Regulation.
European Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert said EU law also provides for the return of migrants staying illegally in EU territory, including unaccompanied minors.
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