The Government accelerates the response to the migratory crisis in Ceuta: more humanitarian aid, new reception places and direct attention to minors

The Government reaches this Friday with new resources deployed in Ceuta and the attention to minors as the next priority. The Ministry of Inclusion reinforced yesterday the humanitarian device with almost 6.5 million euros, expanded the CETI with another 72 places and activated the collaboration of Cruz Roja to attend to the people who continue to sleep on the beaches and around the center.

The response will continue today on the ground with the arrival of Sira Rego. The Minister of Youth and Childhood will meet with the president of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, the government delegate, Miguel Ángel Pérez, and the organizations dedicated to protecting children and adolescents who remain alone in the city.

Around 2,500 people were still in Ceuta this Thursday, according to the latest estimate provided by Interior a week after the massive entry from Morocco. The reception services continue to be under enormous pressure and hundreds of minors await the completion of their files before being able to be transferred to other autonomous communities.

Almost 6.5 million euros to sustain humanitarian aid

The new extraordinary credit from Inclusion will be used to maintain the aid and reception resources that operate inside and outside the CETI. The funding will cover socio-health care, food and basic needs of people who remain in a particularly vulnerable situation.

The Ministry also entrusted Cruz Roja with the care of those who still sleep on the beach and in the surroundings of the center. The organization will reinforce the delivery of food and the most urgent assistance. The department led by Elma Saiz assured that all people who remain on the street will have guaranteed food.

The facilities have also gained 72 places through the transfer of material from the Las Raíces Reception Center, in Tenerife. Interior and Defense participated in an expansion aimed at facilitating the entry of vulnerable people and reducing part of the existing concentration next to the CETI.

These resources are added to the 25 extraordinary millions announced on Tuesday to attend to unaccompanied migrant minors. The amount will be added to the 5.5 million that Ceuta already received in July within the Sectoral Conference on Childhood and Adolescence. Youth and Childhood also enabled two educational centers to temporarily attend to minors, especially girls.

The Popular Party backs down and ends up accepting the distribution of minors

The government's reinforcement coincided with a significant change in the Popular Party's position. Miguel Tellado had argued on Tuesday that the Executive should resolve the care of minors on its own and even demanded that "where they entered, they should leave again." Two days later, Génova confirmed that its communities will participate in the reception.

"The Popular Party always complies with the law and this time too," Elías Bendodo assured yesterday. The popular deputy secretary acknowledged that the party's regional governments will have to receive children and adolescents from Ceuta, although he again blamed Pedro Sánchez for the entire crisis.

Legislation obliges communities to collaborate when a territory exceeds three times its ordinary reception capacity. Ceuta was already above that threshold before last week's arrivals, so the binding mechanism provided for in the Immigration Law can be activated to relieve its resources.

The decision especially affects Extremadura, Aragon, Castilla y León, and Andalusia. The government agreements signed by the PP and the far-right Vox in these four communities include the rejection of receiving new unaccompanied migrant minors. Vox has ruled out breaking the coalitions because the current distribution is imposed by law, although it intends for its partners to raise appeals and political obstacles.

Génova has tried to compensate for its acceptance of the reception by increasing parliamentary pressure. The PP maintains its request for an extraordinary plenary session for Sánchez to appear during August and yesterday demanded urgent explanations from Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Margarita Robles, José Manuel Albares, and Félix Bolaños in different Congress committees.

The Popular Party needs the Bureau to convene the Permanent Deputation to process the appearances during the non-working period. They have also called Robles to the Senate, where their absolute majority allows them to hold the session without depending on other groups.

Sira Rego arrives with Brussels preparing more aid

Sira Rego's visit will open the next phase of the response this Friday. The minister will review the resources enabled for minors and the application of the transfer system, in addition to holding meetings with the entities that work directly with children in Ceuta.

The objective is to accelerate the individual identification of each child or adolescent and complete essential files before any referral. The Ministry wants to prevent the saturation of centers from prolonging the stay of minors in provisional facilities for weeks.

The Government's action may receive new European impetus in the coming days. The European Commission confirmed yesterday that it is studying granting additional financial aid to Spain after receiving an initial assessment of the existing needs in Ceuta.

Conversations are advancing "at full speed," according to community spokesperson Guillaume Mercier. The funds could finance temporary accommodation, medical assistance, food, emergency personnel, and new means to manage the border. Brussels is still waiting for Spain to submit the formal request and specify the necessary amount.

The European Union had already allocated 114 million euros to Spain through emergency aid, of which around 28 million were linked to strengthening reception, asylum, and return systems in Ceuta. The new request will be processed based on the evaluation sent this week and the work that Rego will begin today with the Ceuta authorities.