The Minister of Youth and Childhood, Sira Rego, responded this Wednesday to Alberto Núñez Feijóo's request for all migrants who entered Ceuta at the end of July, including minors, to return to Morocco. "To speak of deporting children is an outrage, no matter where it comes from," the minister warned.
Rego rejected the slogan that all children must automatically return with their parents. "To say 'children with their parents' is a generalization," she pointed out, before recalling that some lack located relatives and that others have fled situations of violence or abuse. In those cases, she explained, returning them to the same environment would violate their fundamental rights.
Hablar de deportar a niños y niñas es una barbaridad, venga de donde venga. La ley en España y en Europa es clara: escucha del menor, intervención de Fiscalía, garantía de derechos y cooperación entre países. Porque el retorno debe ser voluntario y con garantías.
— Sira Rego (@sirarego.bsky.social) 2026-08-19T14:59:48.298Z
Each minor must be heard
The Immigration Law establishes that any possible repatriation requires an individual file and the hearing of the minor when they have sufficient maturity. It also requires reports from protection services and the Public Prosecutor's Office, in addition to verifying that family reunification or delivery to the social services of the country of origin responds to their best interest.
The Ministry of Youth and Childhood is meanwhile working on the transfer to the Peninsula of some 500 girls and adolescents who remain in Ceuta. The plan contemplates resorting to specialized organizations to attend to the most vulnerable profiles in adapted resources, along with other avenues such as foster care. The figure remains provisional and will depend on the identification and evaluation of each case.
Rego's response comes after the Popular Party defended during its appearance in Ceuta that all migrants must return to Morocco. "Neither adults nor minors. All must return," maintained the leader of the PP, who rejected creating what he called a "perverse precedent" by granting rights to those who entered irregularly.
The minister has accused Feijóo of using the argument of family reunification to "cover up political opportunism and join Vox's racist positions". Rego has assured that her department will continue to prioritize the reunification of minors with their families when possible, always after checking their circumstances and the guarantees they would find in the place of return.
Add ElConstitucional.es as a preferred Google source for free.
Stay informed about all the latest breaking news with the best information. Against disinformation, for democracy and social rights.
