Ceuta Judge Warns of ’Degrading’ Conditions for Migrant Minors in Overcrowded Facilities

The situation of more than 1,000 migrant minors taken care of in Ceuta since their arrival in May is worrying the new juvenile judge. "The minors are taken care of, not in centers but in warehouses that do not meet the requirements or conditions," said Eduardo Esteban in an interview. The judge warns about the "public order situation" that can arise if these minors are not allowed to go out. "They are in a situation of overcrowding, of obvious discomfort. They have the right to go out, they cannot be completely locked up," he explains.

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For Esteban, the solution to this problem is not in the return of the minors to Morocco, especially since only seven Moroccan families have expressed this wish. The best, according to him, is to proceed with the reintegration of these minors on a "case-by-case basis". The judge also excludes a "mass" return of all the minors, recalling that in accordance with Spanish legislation, "neither so-called hot returns nor a mass return would be possible with regard to minors".

The prosecutors are at work to determine the age of the minors, Esteban reassured, specifying that it is a "complex process, as they must undergo X-rays". It is true that "the legislator has prohibited full nudity, but there are other forms of examination. In any case, full nudity has always been done with all the guarantees," he added.

Regarding the situation of foreign minors who come of age, Esteban specified that we "cannot simply leave these young people on the street when they turn 18," thus underlining the "urgency" of initiating procedures to obtain a residence permit for them.