The Government accuses the Popular Party of blocking the departure of minors from Ceuta and Torres demands from Feijóo "less demonstration and more providing some solution"

The Government has hardened its response to the PP this Tuesday regarding the situation of migrant minors in Ceuta. After the Council of Ministers, the head of Territorial Policy and responsible for the single command, Ángel Víctor Torres, has asked Alberto Núñez Feijóo and the president of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, to allow part of the children to be transferred to other autonomous communities. His reproach came after the PP announced that it would attend, along with the far-right Vox, a demonstration this Saturday against the Executive's management.

"What we ask of the Popular Party, more than a demonstration, is that they put some solution on the table," Torres said. The minister has argued that the communities governed by the popular party can help alleviate the saturation of Ceuta if they agree to host minors who now remain in the city. "If the minors do not leave Ceuta, it is because the PP does not want them to, people should know that," he insisted.

The political clash comes in the eighth week of the crisis opened after the massive entry at the end of July. The reception continues under strong pressure and the Government is preparing new spaces while the Interior reinforces surveillance in view of the calls disseminated on social networks to try to cross from Morocco this Wednesday.

The future of minors aggravates the pulse with Vivas

According to the latest balance presented by Torres, 2,321 minors have been identified and the Government estimates that there are still between 500 and 700 on the streets of Ceuta. About 2,000 receive attention in reception resources. The minister maintains that the first option for each child is family reunification, provided that the necessary guarantees are met, although he foresees that many will remain in Spain.

For these cases, Torres has proposed the transfer to other communities as a solution to the saturation of the city. He recalled that Ceuta exercises the guardianship of minors and must participate in the formula that allows their reception outside the city, either through agreements with other territories or with specialized entities. The PP rejects these transfers and advocates accelerating returns for fear that the reception will provoke new entries.

The Government spokesperson, Elma Saiz, also criticized Vivas for declining to meet on Monday with the Minister of Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, while participating in a PP event alongside Feijóo and the leader of the European Popular Party, Manfred Weber. At the same time, the Executive has again called for calm after the aggression suffered on Sunday by the Ceuta deputy Julia Ferreras. Saiz valued Feijóo's condemnation of the attack but demanded that he break his agreements with the far-right Vox due to the messages from its leaders against migrants.

More places and almost 7,000 voluntary returns

Torres announced that this week and next week new reception spaces will be enabled. According to figures provided by the minister, more than 6,000 adults are already in facilities and the Government will continue to expand the provisions so that no one has to sleep on the beaches. The Council of Ministers has examined the evolution of an emergency for which the Executive had already committed funding for the care of minors.

The single command has also detailed the progress of adult identifications. 2,546 initial interviews have been conducted, the process in which the circumstances of each person are registered and they are asked if they wish to apply for international protection. The Government wants to shorten the processing times for files, although asylum applications must be resolved individually.

Since August 10, 6,791 people have voluntarily returned to Morocco and another 318 have been expelled, according to the balance presented by Torres. In the last week alone, there were 1,309 voluntary returns. The minister has linked part of this increase to the streamlining of identifications and the information received by those affected about their procedures.

The Council has also approved an institutional declaration calling for priority attention for migrant women and girls in Ceuta due to the risk of trafficking and sexual exploitation. The text calls for strengthening prevention and ensuring that minors have protection resources appropriate to their age.

Interior prepares the expansion of El Tarajal

In parallel, the Ministry of Interior has initiated the procedures to extend the El Tarajal breakwater and replace the provisional floating barrier installed in August with a permanent system. The announcement came after the Ceuta government warned that several sections of the current buoy were again partially deflated.

The project foresees a first extension of 15 meters with a mesh enclosure and a second of another 100 meters offshore. Both phases have an estimated cost of seven million euros. Interior estimates another two million for the buoyage and a containment net suspended to the seabed. The works still need favorable reports from Ceuta and other organizations, so they are part of the longer-term response.

For this Wednesday's alert, surveillance will depend on the personnel already deployed and the reinforcements sent to Ceuta and Melilla. Interior has planned nearly 150 additional agents, including national police and civil guards in Ceuta, in addition to more aerial surveillance. The operation will be pending calls to cross the border coinciding with the legislative elections in Morocco.