Spain Plans Transfer of 500 Migrant Girls From Ceuta as 1,400 Minors Overcrowd Shelters

Proposed transfer of 500 minors

Spain's Secretary of State for Youth and Children, Rubén Pérez Correa, confirmed on 21 August 2026 that the central government considers the transfer of 500 unaccompanied migrant girls from Ceuta to the mainland feasible within a few weeks. The initiative seeks to alleviate severe pressure on the autonomous city's child protection services, which are accommodating 1,400 minors in designated reception centers. Authorities noted that additional minors remain on the streets without formal identification or registration. Some youth avoid police shelters out of fear of deportation, while others stay hidden in private homes with relatives or acquaintances. A significant portion of those sheltered privately are girls who arrived before the border crossing spike on 30 July 2026.

I believe it is feasible to say that, if we all roll up our sleeves, we are capable within a few weeks of having these girls in specialized resources.

Operational framework and ministerial resources

The central administration is preparing individualized dossiers for each minor to expedite their relocation to specialized care centers. Operational planning involves four separate departments: the Ministry of Equality, the Ministry of Inclusion, the Ministry of Youth and Children, and the Ministry of the Interior. State officials have held discussions with social welfare entities and private organizations that operate reception capacity across mainland Spain. Funding already designated for Ceuta will finance the placements once an official agreement is formalized between the city administration and the participating entities. Pérez Correa explained that saturated reception centers create acute safety concerns for vulnerable young people, making rapid placement in dedicated facilities necessary.

Political friction over formal proposals

The relocation plan faces political friction between Madrid and the autonomous government of Ceuta, which holds legal guardianship over unaccompanied minors within its territory. Ceuta President Juan Manuel Vivas publicly asserted that the central government had not presented a concrete transfer proposal to the city administration. In response, Pérez Correa stated that informal communications had already occurred with Ceuta's presidency, its youth affairs department, and its minister of the presidency. He linked Vivas's public hesitation to a joint appearance with People's Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who opposed the central government's approach. Pérez Correa pledged to deliver the finalized written documentation to local authorities immediately.

If what the government of Ceuta wants is a concrete proposal, of course they are going to have it.

Legal precedents and mainland placement models

Central government officials opted for direct cooperation agreements rather than enacting a Royal Decree-Law, arguing that bilateral conventions with social organizations deliver faster results. Pérez Correa pointed to past operations in the Canary Islands, where the Supreme Court mandated state responsibility for minors seeking asylum. During that previous operation, partner organizations helped transfer more than 600 children from island facilities to mainland centers within approximately one month. The secretary of state also rejected proposals from the People's Party calling for the general return of all arriving migrants. He stated that national and regional child protection legislation explicitly protects unaccompanied minors from summary expulsions.