Spain Plans Transfer of 500 Migrant Girls from Ceuta to Mainland

Spain is preparing the urgent transfer of approximately 500 unaccompanied migrant girls from the North African enclave of Ceuta to the mainland, a move that marks an official exception to the government's earlier pledge that no irregular arrivals would reach the peninsula. The plan, confirmed by officials at the Ministry of Youth and Children, aims to relocate the minors considered most vulnerable following the mass influx of over 70,000 people from Morocco on July 30.

The majority of those who crossed returned within days, but national police have registered 2,168 unaccompanied minors in Ceuta since the surge. With Ceuta's ordinary reception capacity for children set at just 29 places, shelters are now housing about 1,350 minors, a situation the enclave's government has described as operating at over 4,600% capacity. The Spanish government frames the transfer as a necessary measure to protect the best interests of the most vulnerable children, particularly the girls, who have been living in overcrowded and makeshift conditions.

The decision comes amid multiple reports of sexual violence against minors in Ceuta. The Guardia Civil has confirmed 15 sexual assaults in the enclave...