The Government will enable an extraordinary allocation of 25 million euros to care for unaccompanied migrant minors remaining in Ceuta after the massive entry recorded in the autonomous city, as announced this Tuesday by the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration, Elma Saiz.
The credit will be transferred by the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Youth and Childhood, led by Sira Rego, which will subsequently transfer the funds to Ceuta to cover the urgent needs of children and adolescents.
Sources from the Youth and Childhood department have confirmed that the money will be allocated to finance immediate care, accommodation, and assistance for the minors currently under the protection of the autonomous city.
More than 30 million for the care of minors
The 25 million announced adds to the 5.5 million euros distributed during the Sectorial Conference on Childhood held last July.
Saiz has presented the measure as a demonstration of the Executive's support for Ceuta and has pointed out that the Government wants to place special emphasis on the protection of the most vulnerable people.
“It is a good proof of the commitment, that the Government of Spain is supporting Ceuta and, of course, placing special emphasis on the most vulnerable,” she stated after evaluating the latest data on Social Security affiliation.
The minister has also appealed to the responsibility of all autonomous communities, including those governed by the Popular Party, to collaborate in the reception and care of minors.
The Government admits that it was aware of a spike in arrivals
Asked about the prior warnings before the massive entry, Saiz reiterated that the Executive was not aware of any report that anticipated a crisis of that magnitude.
However, she acknowledged that the authorities had information about an increase in arrivals typical of the summer period, although she insisted that nothing allowed for the prediction of an episode of the dimensions recorded in Ceuta.
"At no time was there any record of any report that alerted to the magnitude of this unprecedented event," the minister stated, who also defended the response deployed by the Executive.
Saiz highlights Morocco's collaboration
The head of Inclusion has avoided making reproaches against Rabat and has assured that the management of the crisis would not have been possible without the collaboration of Morocco, especially to facilitate the returns.
Saiz has defended that the government's migration policy places human rights at the center and has considered that Spain "has been up to the task" in the face of an unprecedented situation.
The announcement of the funding comes while Ceuta has activated extraordinary resources to care for minors and demands a coordinated response that allows distributing the pressure among the different autonomous communities.