Juan Jesús Vivas, president of Ceuta, has stepped away from the Partido Popular’s tough stance on migrant minors. For months, he insisted that every unaccompanied child who crossed into Ceuta had to be returned to Morocco. Now he says some cases, where legal or administrative hurdles prevent a return, could lead to transfers to mainland Spain.
This comes as the national Partido Popular, led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, opposes such transfers. Party leaders in Madrid warn that moving minors to other regions would create an “effecto llamada,” or pull factor, for more arrivals. But Vivas, dealing with the situation on the ground, has acknowledged that not every minor can be sent back, regardless of the party’s position. Information from Euronews, Spanish authorities stress that returns to Morocco are never automatic. Each case requires a review of family circumstances and must follow the "best interests of the child" rule.
In the past year, approximately 700 minors have been transferred from Ceuta to other regions of Spain following the reform of Article 35 of the immigration law.
At a Forbes event in Madrid, reporters pressed Vivas for answers. He was clear: “Nobody doubts that family reunification is the first option.” Asked about the “minimal” cases that cannot be returned to Morocco, he said, “Those minimal cases will be attended to in accordance with Spanish legislation.”
Article 35 of the immigration law requires Spain’s autonomous communities to take in minors when a region’s capacity is exceeded by three times or more. Ceuta’s normal capacity is 29 places; 2,383 minors are currently registered in the city. The figures show a system under severe strain. Independent outlets like Maldita confirm that Ceuta’s infrastructure is stretched far beyond its limits, with minors greatly outnumbering available places.
Vivas said about 40 cases are already being processed. “Let’s exhaust the return route. If that cannot be carried out, we will open another,” he said. The Ministry of Youth and Children has put forward two options: voluntary agreements between regions or mandatory use of Article 35. Recently, five girls were sent to Navarra, which is run by the PSOE, under such an agreement. Ceuta had to give explicit approval for the transfer.
Several sources indicate that new case files are being prepared for dozens of minors, and the total number of family reunification requests may exceed 300. This suggests the issue is likely to be resolved in waves rather than through a single decision.
“Yes, the law continues to be applied. We are not against the law being enforced. But what has happened means we need to rethink the situation, because the ordinary resources are not fit for a scenario like this,” Vivas said. Also to these transfers, 54 minors have already been moved to the mainland to join family members in Spain, information from several independent media reports.
Ceuta’s practical approach stands out against the national Partido Popular’s messaging. Party leaders continue to warn of “invasions” and the risk of a pull factor. Yet even regions run by the PP are now hosting minors who arrived before the latest surge. If Navarra can take minors, the question is why other regions, including those under PP control, cannot.
Vivas distanced himself from the “effecto llamada” argument. “Not exactly that. We consider it an invasion, and conclusions must be drawn,” he said in Madrid. He called on the central government for “structural and consistent responses over time.” He also asked the European Union to fund a “tutor” for minors sent back to Morocco who cannot be reunited with family, suggesting EU money could support Moroccan institutions caring for these children.
Morocco says it will accept “all” minors. Before the current crisis, but, Rabat refused to take back 668 children whose cases had already been processed and approved for return. Of the 2,383 minors now in Ceuta, about 700 arrived before July 30. The logistical and diplomatic problems remain impressive.
Meanwhile, the central government’s plan, as explained by Minister Ángel Víctor Torres, is to ensure all minors are found and housed in Ceuta before any return or transfer. “To be returned or relocated, minors must first be in spaces where their cases can be processed. You cannot do this if you do not know where they will sleep,” Torres said. He noted that the number of cases being processed is rising by 40 to 50 percent each week. The Ministry of Youth and Children is pushing for mandatory or agreed redistribution of minors among Spain’s regions to ease pressure on Ceuta, as reported by El Constitucional.
Adults who remain on Ceuta’s beaches after the mass crossing in late July will be returned, Torres said. The government is trying to process as many cases as possible, but the scale of arrivals has exposed the limits of current infrastructure and policy.
The Partido Popular’s internal divisions are now public. Ceuta’s case shows the gap between political slogans and what happens in practice. The law, not party lines, is setting the next steps. Vivas’s position is a impressive local shift for a party built on hard borders and zero tolerance, and an acknowledgment that migration cannot be addressed with slogans alone. Ceuta is testing whether Spanish politics can move beyond rhetoric and address migration through legal measures. For more on political networks and legal processes in Spain, see this previous investigation.
