The Socialist Spanish government’s Minister of Children has admitted that Madrid is planning on allowing the majority of alleged unaccompanied minors in Ceuta relocate to mainland Spain. Following the dramatic migrant invasion of the Spanish exclave city at the end of July by upwards of 70,000 illegal migrants from Morocco, thousands of children were abandoned by their families and told to remain in Ceuta, given the likelihood of receiving refugee status is higher for unaccompanied minors in the European Union, following which they can often apply to bring their families into their host country.
While the Islamic Alawite regime in Morocco has claimed that it would be willing to accept the return of the estimated 1,500 minor migrants, Spaniards across the political spectrum have treated such assertions from Rabat with a heavy dose of scepticism. Rather than putting pressure on their North African neighbour, the Socialist Party-led government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has apparently pre-emptively surrendered on the issue, with Minister of Youth and Childhood, Sira Rego, saying on Monday that a “majority” of the supposed migrant children will be given refugee status and be provided with accommodation in mainland Spain. “Most of the minors want to stay in Spain, and they will stay because there is a law that protects them,” she told public broadcaster SER. “In our country, all children are equal before the law.”
