article_detail

After months of negotiations and hold-ups, the Spanish government has given the green light to a decree allowing unaccompanied migrant children to be moved from jam-packed reception centres in the Canary Islands and Ceuta to better facilities across the rest of Spain. The first group has now arrived in the Region of Murcia.

 

Eleven children have made the journey so far and according to Conchita Ruiz, the Minister for Social Policy, Families and Equality, something unexpected but promising has emerged. Some of these youngsters already have connections to the Murcia area.

 

"They have a certain emotional and familial connection to these communities. That is, they have families they can live with or share," Ms Ruiz explained.

 

But the regional government isn't happy about how this is all being handled. Councillor Ruiz has come out swinging against Pedro Sánchez's administration, claiming the central government is weaponising migration policy to drive a wedge between Spain's autonomous communities.

 

Her main grievance is that Madrid is offloading its responsibilities onto the regions without providing any money to support them, whilst simultaneously uprooting children from the only places they've come to know as home.

 

The Region of Murcia is fighting back legally, challenging the cases being sent their way by the Ministry of Children. They've also lodged appeals against two royal decrees from the central government. The first decree declared a crisis and migration contingency in places like the Canary Islands and Ceuta. The second one orders the transfer and relocation of these foreign minors.

 

Ms Ruiz made it clear that Fernando López Miras's government plans to use every legal avenue available to block these transfers. In her view, the central government is overstepping its authority and failing in its duty to protect vulnerable children, treating them like goods to be shipped around rather than young people who need stability.

 

Looking ahead, Murcia is expected to receive a total of 133 migrant minors under this scheme.

 

 

Image: Archive