The government led by Pedro Sánchez initially pledged to utilize existing migration agreements with Morocco to facilitate the return of immigrants who crossed the border illegally, particularly in the wake of a recent surge. However, the current administration appears to be leveraging this crisis as a political tool against the Popular Party (PP), despite Morocco's willingness to accept these individuals. Moroccan authorities have cited the overly complicated Spanish legal and bureaucratic framework as a significant barrier to facilitating returns.

On July 31, prior to Pedro Sánchez's visit to Ceuta, Minister of Territorial Policy Ángel Víctor Torres indicated that the agreed framework with Morocco would be established to facilitate the return of those who illegally crossed the border. However, since that time, no government official has echoed this sentiment, instead directing responsibility towards the regional governments controlled by the PP to accommodate these migrants.

This migration agreement was originally approved in 2007 under the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and later ratified in 2013 by Mariano Rajoy's administration. Article 2.3 of the agreement states one of its objectives is to "facilitate the assisted return of minors to their families or to the guardianship institutions of their country of origin, as well as their social reintegration." Additionally, clause 4.2 specifies that Morocco is responsible for identifying the minor and their family within three months of receiving the relevant documentation and/or information from Spain.

While minors are entitled to special protection, it is stipulated that, upon evaluation of their individual situations, they could return to Morocco—their initial point of entry into Spain. A recent ruling by the Supreme Court prohibits immediate returns at maritime borders; however, it does not prevent their return after assessing the circumstances surrounding their cases.

The Best Interests of Minors

Currently, over 500 minors remain in Ceuta, having spent several days in the city. Once it is determined that their safety is not at risk, they could potentially return to their parents or the social services in Morocco, as the paramount concern is the best interests of the minors, especially given the lack of available space in the overwhelmed CETIs.

This notion was recently suggested by Miguel Tellado, the Secretary General of the PP, who remarked that these minors should return through the same routes they entered. Similarly, Ana Dávila, the Youth Counselor for Madrid, urged the central government to "identify the minors, locate their families, and return these minors to their families" in alignment with the minors' best interests. She further noted that if the minors lack family, they would be placed under Morocco's protection system, which she claims operates effectively.

Even the PNV has called for the minors to "return to their families," rejecting the idea of them being accommodated in the Basque Country, while Junts has expressed that it will not accept the transfer of these minors to Catalonia. Contrary to the preferences of some of its coalition partners, the Sánchez administration has even threatened to involve the Public Prosecutor's Office against the PP if regional governments do not comply with the distribution of minors. This situation is not unprecedented, as the government has a history of using crises to shift responsibility onto autonomous governments, particularly those governed by the PP in coalition with Vox, where the refusal to accept minor immigrants is part of their agreements.

The political party led by Santiago Abascal has already made it clear that it will not accept the accommodation of these minors arriving in Ceuta in regions like Andalusia and Extremadura. This issue has previously led to the collapse of coalition governments between these two parties, although Vox insists that such a split is not anticipated this time. The last distribution that the PP declined to accept also caused internal friction, especially given that the party governs in the Canary Islands alongside CC, which demanded the removal of these minors from the islands.

As reported by libertaddigital.com.