The Spanish government is preparing to redistribute unaccompanied migrant minors from Ceuta, and the Partido Popular (PP) says it will comply with the law despite its earlier opposition. The shift follows years of political standoff. PP-led regions are now expected to accept their assigned share after a surge in arrivals overwhelmed Ceuta’s limited resources.
The legal basis is Article 35 of Spain’s Organic Law on the Rights and Freedoms of Foreigners, as amended. It provides for transfers between autonomous communities when a territory is formally declared to be facing a migratory emergency. The government says the law makes those transfers mandatory, including for PP-governed regions. Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory Ángel Víctor Torres said the PP had voted against “the amendment to the Immigration Law to help the distribution of migrant minors.”
In previous crises in the Canary Islands, regional governments struggled to secure support. Ceuta’s situation has left little room for political maneuvering. Since April 2025, the criteria for distributing minors have been enshrined in law, obliging all autonomous communities to participate. The PP initially voted against the decree, joined by its own deputies from the Canary Islands, but the measure passed with support from Junts. Under Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the PP leadership has now publicly committed to upholding the law, despite earlier coalition agreements with Vox that promised to reject such transfers.
Ceuta’s reception system is under severe strain. Figures cited by the city’s president, Juan Jesús Vivas, indicate that around 1,200 minors are currently in the city, far above its declared capacity of just 29. Hundreds more are believed to be living on the streets after a mass border crossing last week. To address the emergency, the government has handed over two school buildings to Ceuta. One is already housing 110 girls, while the other is being prepared for use. Local authorities say the transfer process, which had been running smoothly, is now facing impressive delays because of the scale of the crisis.
Minister of Youth and Children Sira Rego is in Ceuta to assess the situation and coordinate temporary solutions. The first step is registering each minor; police have already processed more than 500. The next phase depends on other regions offering places for the children. The Ministry of Youth is also seeking agreements with NGOs and private organizations to help provide care. In Melilla, a smaller but impressive increase in arrivals has pushed local capacity to its limits: 140 minors were among 260 recent arrivals, while only 30 places are available. The city’s president, Juan José Imbroda, has called on fellow PP leaders to show solidarity and respect the legal structure.
Government figures reported in October 2026 put the scale of the Ceuta emergency at 3,331 migrant minors who entered the city at the end of July and were being accommodated in facilities operated or made available by the autonomous city. Of these, 107 had reached mainland Spain through family-reunification procedures, while 181 had been transferred to other autonomous communities under Article 35. The figures reflect two separate routes: family reunification and statutory redistribution.
After initial ambiguity from the PP leadership, the party’s position is now clear: it will follow the law, even if some regional partners remain uneasy. Vox continues to oppose the transfers and advocates returning minors to their countries of origin, a move considered highly unlikely. The dispute also highlights the government’s distinction between adult returns and child protection. Torres said more than 12,000 adults had been returned to Morocco during the Ceuta crisis, while no minors had been returned. PP spokesperson Borja Sémper has argued for returning migrants arriving by boat instead of redistributing them among Spain’s regions. Junts has threatened to block any further transfers to Catalonia, but the government downplays the risk, noting that Catalonia already hosts more minors than the national average. The government points to the more than 1,750 minors already relocated to other regions from Ceuta and Melilla, as well as the Canary Islands, as detailed in recent coverage of Spain’s relocation efforts.
The redistribution effort has also brought emergency funding. On 1 September 2026, the Spanish government approved a decree that included €63 million in direct support for Ceuta’s care of minors, information from official government communications. The funding supports the city’s immediate response alongside transfers between regions. It is separate from the allocation mechanism itself.
In the coming weeks, the focus will be on speeding up registration and transfers, as the government aims to ease pressure on Ceuta and Melilla as quickly as possible. The PP has demanded that several ministers appear urgently in parliament, but the executive has not yet agreed to the requests. Tensions remain high, while the legal obligation leaves little room for further political resistance.
Spain’s approach to unaccompanied migrant minors is shaped by national and EU regulations. The 2025 decree established a binding structure for regional cooperation, aimed at preventing humanitarian emergencies in border territories. The issue remains politically sensitive, especially in regions governed by coalitions with Vox, but the current crisis in Ceuta has prompted rare agreement. The government’s ability to coordinate swift transfers and secure regional participation will be critical in the weeks ahead. The outcome could shape future migration policy and inter-regional relations across Spain.
