A rare point of agreement has emerged between the Spanish government and Partido Popular (PP) over the ongoing crisis in Ceuta: the urgent priority, both sides say, is to reunite unaccompanied minors with their families in Morocco. Police counted 1,527 foreign minors still in the city nearly two weeks after a mass border crossing. Complex administrative requirements and insufficient staffing are slowing the process, raising concerns about delays and legal compliance.
Officials from both sides have publicly said that family reunification is impressive. The government, represented by ministers Félix Bolaños and Ángel Víctor Torres, has stressed that every case must be coordinated with Moroccan authorities and the minor’s family. PP leaders continue to press the government to act, while Madrid says it is already pursuing this route. The Ministry of Youth and Children has also faced criticism. Minister Sira Rego recently visited Ceuta and confirmed that family reunification remains the government’s basic objective.
Government figures published on 20 October 2026 show the scale of the continuing child-protection challenge: 3,331 minors remained in Ceuta’s regional care system. A further 107 had been transferred to mainland Spain through family-reunification procedures. Another 181 had been relocated to other autonomous communities under Article 35 of Spain’s Immigration Act, while 63 case files had been sent to Morocco for possible family reunification. These figures describe different administrative outcomes and should not be treated as one combined total. The government said that, by that date, no minor had been reunited with family in Morocco.
The same briefing recorded 12,705 returns from Ceuta to Morocco since 10 August, including 12,142 voluntary returns and 536 expulsions. The government clarified that these returns involved adults, not unaccompanied minors. The contrast is impressive: an operational return channel for adults did not create an equivalent process for children, whose cases require individual assessment and coordination across borders.
Reunification is not straightforward. Each case requires an individual assessment, including interviews to establish the minors’ wishes and circumstances. Legal procedures require that all minors be heard, with particular attention to their maturity and opinions from age 12. The process also involves the Fiscalía, or prosecutor’s office, and requires legal assistance. Authorities must coordinate with the Government Delegation in Ceuta. The national government has said ordinary responsibility for unaccompanied minors rests with the autonomous city, while national authorities support transfers and international coordination. For minors who remain in Spain, transfers to the mainland and the Balearic Islands continue under separate procedures.
Diplomatic steps are also necessary. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must liaise with Morocco under a bilateral agreement on child protection and cooperation. Authorities must ensure that returning a minor would not expose them to poverty or abuse, including undignified conditions. If a child reports such risks, the Fiscalía considers their testimony. The Ministry of the Interior oversees the transfer only after the required guarantees are met.
Past failures have heightened scrutiny. In 2021, 55 minors were returned to Morocco immediately, bypassing legal safeguards. This led to convictions for administrative misconduct against Ceuta’s then-delegate and vice president, after a court found the process arbitrary and unjust. The ruling stressed that legal procedures must be followed to protect minors’ interests, even in a crisis.
PP and Vox have repeatedly promised to repatriate minors in their regional coalition agreements, but cross-border returns require national authorities to coordinate with Morocco. Ceuta’s ordinary responsibility for child protection is separate from that process. Ceuta President Juan Jesús Vivas has called for more administrative resources to speed up casework, warning that procedures could drag on without additional staff.
Legal safeguards are impressive rights, not obstacles. Each minor’s situation must be carefully evaluated, particularly because some may qualify for international protection due to conflict or persecution in their home countries. Inadequate assessments risk violating their rights and international obligations.
Spain has repeatedly faced challenges managing arrivals of unaccompanied minors, particularly in border regions such as Ceuta and Melilla. The country is bound by international conventions and EU directives to ensure that the best interests of the child are respected in all proceedings. Figures reported on 20 October 2026 show the divide between adult returns and children’s cases. Thousands remained in regional care, while domestic transfers continued. Files sent to Morocco had not yet led to completed family reunifications. The situation exposes the tension between humanitarian obligations and political pressure on an administrative system with limited capacity as the government and regional authorities work to address the crisis.
