What future awaits the minors who remain in Ceuta?: Spain must protect them and decide one by one if they return with their families

Four days after the massive entry from Morocco, Ceuta is already attending to 862 migrant minors and estimates that the figure could exceed a thousand when those who remain hidden, temporarily hosted by acquaintances, or have not yet gone to social services are located. Many arrived alone. Others crossed with family members from whom they later became separated.

The question arises every time a Moroccan family calls to claim one of these children. Can Spain immediately hand them over at the border? The answer is clear: a family request can help locate them, but it does not authorize their automatic return. The Administration must verify who is claiming them, listen to the minor, and certify that the return is in their best interest and will be carried out under safe conditions.

The so-called "hot returns" are also not generally prohibited in Spain. The Immigration Law allows the immediate rejection of those who try to overcome the physical containment elements of Ceuta and Melilla, always respecting human rights and international protection. The Supreme Court has recently limited this mechanism to the land border and has excluded those who access by swimming, who must go through an ordinary return procedure.

The presence of a minor activates reinforced protection. If their age is evident from their documentation or appearance, they must be placed at the disposal of protection services. When they lack documents and there are doubts, the Public Prosecutor's Office intervenes to determine it. A valid passport cannot be ignored without a justified reason and, if the evidence offers a range, they must be considered a minor when their lowest end is below 18 years of age.

A family call does not replace the file

Once their minority is confirmed, the child remains under the guardianship or tutelage of the Autonomous City and must receive accommodation, food, healthcare, schooling, an interpreter, and specialized support. They must also be informed of their right to request international protection when there may be persecution, trafficking, family violence, or other risks if they return to their country.

The Government Delegation is responsible for processing a possible repatriation. Before opening the procedure, it must request information from the authorities of the country of origin regarding filiation and family circumstances. It also needs reports from protection services and the Public Prosecutor's Office. The minor has the right to know the file in an understandable language, present allegations, receive legal assistance, and be heard before a decision is adopted.

Adolescents between 16 and 18 years old can intervene directly or through the representative they choose. Minors under 16 with sufficient maturity must also be heard and, if they disagree with the entity exercising their guardianship, a judicial defender must be appointed for them. The procedure can end with permanence in Spain, reunification with their family, or delivery to the protection services of Morocco, provided that these assume their responsibility in writing and adequate guarantees exist.

The Immigration Regulations grant a maximum period of six months to resolve. The will to return and the parents' claim weigh in the assessment, but do not replace verifications. The identity of the family members, the bond with the minor, the home conditions, and possible risks must be accredited before authorizing the return.

Spain already knows the consequences of skipping these guarantees. In August 2021, after another massive entry into Ceuta, authorities began sending minors to Morocco through a collective procedure. The Supreme Court confirmed in January 2024 that those repatriations were illegal because individual files, the hearing of those affected, and the procedures required by the Immigration Law were disregarded.

UNICEF has recalled during the current crisis that the repatriations of minors "can never be collective" and that the protection of migrant children corresponds to the State as a whole. Save the Children has asked that no child spend a night without safe accommodation or an assessment of their needs. The organizations also demand rapid identification to detect family separations, victims of trafficking, asylum seekers, and minors with specific medical or psychological needs.

Ceuta multiplies its reception capacity by thirty

The Ceuta government places its ordinary capacity at 29 minors and calculates an over-occupation of 2,872%. The Royal Decree that set territorial capacities in 2025 included 27 places for the city. The administrative difference barely alters the dimension of the emergency, with 862 children and adolescents already attended to and the forecast that more will appear in the coming days.

The Autonomous City has distributed the minors between the La Esperanza center, the Tarajal Nueva Esperanza warehouse, and the spaces enabled in Piniers. It is also preparing an industrial construction and another warehouse to expand provisional reception. Juan Jesús Vivas's Executive demands more funding from the central Government and the urgent transfer to the Peninsula of those who cannot be attended to with guarantees in Ceuta.

The Ministry of Youth and Childhood keeps the mandatory reception mechanism between autonomous communities active and assures that it is working to accelerate referrals to territories that remain below their capacity. The reform approved in 2025 establishes that, during an extraordinary migratory contingency, each minor must be registered and transferred within a maximum of 15 calendar days, after listening to them and communicating the decision to the Public Prosecutor's Office.

That period begins to count with the registration of each child, so it does not allow for the sudden displacement of all fostered children nor does it eliminate prior checks. The destination community assumes guardianship and custody once the referral is completed. While the files are processed and transfers begin, Ceuta remains responsible for protecting the 862 minors it has identified and for locating those who still remain outside its resources.