Minister Sira Rego confronts racism in Congress and demands the transfer of minors from Ceuta: "Children are not invaders"

The Minister of Youth and Childhood, Sira Rego, demanded this Monday the transfer to the Peninsula of migrant minors who remain in Ceuta. The measure is "essential" to alleviate the city's protection system and guarantee care, as she defended during her appearance before the Congress's Youth and Childhood Commission.

Ceuta currently has 1,478 identified minors within its protection system and the Government estimates that another 1,200 are still pending filiation. Rego acknowledged that identification should progress faster, although she insisted that the autonomous city lacks the capacity to care for more than 2,000 children and adolescents on its own.

"That the geographical border is there does not mean that the responsibility is only that of the people of Ceuta," she stressed. The minister presented reception as a national issue that requires cooperation between administrations, moving away from the partisan confrontation that has marked recent weeks.

500 vulnerable girls await transfer

The most immediate proposal affects 500 girls in a situation of special vulnerability. The Ministry proposes transferring them to small centers distributed throughout different parts of Spain, while guardianship remains in the hands of Ceuta and their files continue to be processed. The operation remains pending the consent of Juan Jesús Vivas's Government.

Rego has estimated that there are 760 girls in the city, of whom 233 are under 13 years old. Some have fled sexual violence, forced marriages, ill-treatment, abandonment or street situations, while others need protection due to their sexual orientation.

The Executive is also studying direct agreements between autonomous communities and foster care, after receiving numerous offers. Added to this is the binding mechanism introduced by the reform of the Immigration Law, which has allowed around 2,000 files to be resolved during the last year. Rego assures that there are also 2,000 available places in different reception systems in Spain.

The minister has defended family reunification whenever it is safe. Before the crisis, Spain had already sent about 600 files to Morocco to identify families and check the conditions for possible return. "The response has been silence," Rego denounced.

Her words specify the "frankly positive" collaboration with Rabat highlighted by Pedro Sánchez during his interview on 'Cadena SER'. The president was referring to the border cooperation deployed after the massive entry, while Rego has pointed out the lack of Moroccan response in the individual procedures of minors.

Against hatred and racism

"Girls and boys are not invaders, they are subjects of rights," the minister proclaimed in the face of the discourse of the far-right Vox. Rego recalled that the minors arrived alone and after suffering exploitation, abandonment or abuse, so presenting them as responsible for the crisis means confusing the victims with those who used them.

The head of Childhood also condemned the attacks against humanitarian teams and migrants recorded in Ceuta. "Preventing Red Cross volunteers from distributing food is not defending Ceuta," she warned before criticizing the burning of belongings and the organized rounds to persecute and "hunt" people.

Rego assured that she will not allow the parliamentary commission to become a "chamber of resonance for racism." "Racism is not just another political position and fascism is not either," she responded after far-right deputy Blanca Armario described the minors as "invaders" and accused the Government of "treason."

The PP has reproached the Executive for its "incompetence and improvisation" and has called for accelerating reunifications, while Sumar and Coalición Canaria have supported that border territories stop bearing all the pressure alone. Junts and the Basque Nationalist Party have asked that the distribution take into account the previous effort and the real capacity of each community.

The first decision is now in the hands of the Ceuta Executive. The transfer of the 500 girls can begin when Juan Jesús Vivas authorizes their reception in the centers prepared in the Peninsula.