Ceuta leader: situation with unaccompanied minors 'absolutely unacceptable'

Ceuta's local leader Juan Jesus Vivas said on Wednesday that the city is still dealing with a large number of unaccompanied minors and that the situation has become unacceptable. He urged Spain's central government to step in.

According to estimates by the authorities, 70,000 of the 72,000 irregular migrants who had arrived in Ceuta since 30 July have been taken back to Morocco. Among the roughly 2,500 people still remaining are hundreds of unaccompanied children. Vivas told broadcaster RTVE that Ceuta's services are currently caring for 1,100 minors, even though the theoretical reception capacity is only 90.

The enclave's government leader described the situation as absolutely unacceptable and warned of a serious risk to public order and security because reception centres are overcrowded. Spain's top government official in Ceuta, Miguel Angel Perez, also admitted that minors are still on the streets and called it a priority issue causing great concern.

Vivas said Ceuta is asking for help and support from the rest of Spain. He repeated his criticism of the left-led Madrid administration, saying its response to the crisis has been late and clearly insufficient.

The charity Save the Children estimates that around 1,000 of the migrants still in Ceuta are vulnerable minors. Any attempt to move them to other parts of Spain is likely to meet resistance, particularly in regions run by the conservative People's Party and the far-right Vox.

On Tuesday, the Youth and Children's Ministry announced 25 million euros in emergency funding for Ceuta to help care for the minors.