The Valencian councilor for Social Services and Childhood, Elena Albalat, has urged the central Government to specify how the migrant minors who arrived in Ceuta last week will be distributed among the autonomous communities, warning that the reception resources of the Comunitat Valenciana are "collapsed".
"We have the centers collapsed because, apart from the distributions made by the Government, we continue to receive immigrants arriving by boat, especially in the area of Alicante. When the time comes, with the information provided by the Government, we will evaluate everything," she stated in remarks sent to the media.
The regional official pointed out that "the problem of unaccompanied minors is a very important State problem" that, in her opinion, "has been caused by the Government of Spain itself." "As of today, at this hour, no one from the Government has contacted us --she complained--. We have not received official communication about whether there will be a distribution of unaccompanied minors from Ceuta, nor when they will arrive, nor anything."
In this regard, she emphasized that "the Government's improvisation" in migration management leads to "a collapse of the reception centers," which in the Comunitat Valenciana show "an over-occupancy of 160%." She also criticized that the autonomous communities are forced to "act when the Government says" and do so "without means, without funding, and without resources."
"It is a lack of responsibility of the Government, which does not take into account the autonomous communities. It simply orders and commands the autonomous communities what they have to do with these minors," she added.
For this reason, Albalat has demanded that the Executive specify the distribution of these minors and provide the communities with the necessary economic and material resources to be able to care for them. She criticized that the central Government, "when making the distributions, only finances the first three months" in which the unaccompanied minors remain in the autonomous communities.
"And what happens when they have completed three months and one more day?" --she questioned--. "Do these unaccompanied minors no longer eat? We are paying for this out of pocket, assuming those responsibilities that the Government does not assume."
Even so, the councilor has claimed that the Valencian Community is "a welcoming community for all the people who come," has reminded that it is a territory "of arrival of boats" and has emphasized that the "first" thing is that "the Government says what it intends to do" with the minors who have arrived in Ceuta.