Thousands of Migrants Still Roam Ceuta as Morocco Border Remains Closed

The government delegate in Ceuta, Salvadora Mateos, said on Monday that nearly 6,000 migrants continue to wander the streets of Ceuta and about 700 minors and 800 adults are still living in the Tarajal warehouses since the end of the migration crisis that occurred in May, specifying that the borders with Morocco have been closed since March 2020, and that even in the event of a hypothetical reopening of the borders, only tourists will be able to enter the autonomous city with visas, pending the study of the possibility of authorizing Moroccan citizens residing in the border municipalities such as Tetouan as well as regular workers, reports La Razón.

To read: Hundreds of Moroccan Migrants Remain in Ceuta as Repatriation Efforts Stall

"There was a crisis whose causes are known and there is no need to recall it, but with the arrival of José Manuel Albares at the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to replace Arancha González Laya, relations with Morocco have resumed, and you will see it in the coming days," Mateos said. But for the moment, the new minister is slow to make his first official visit to Rabat.

"The Convention on the Rights of the Child is once again being violated in Ceuta, with poor quality care and reception and, above all, a lack of political will to integrate these children," deplored Michel Bustillo, the specialist in the integration of unaccompanied foreign minors, adding that, moreover, "Morocco is still not interested in these children and young people that it continues to use as a bargaining chip." Despite the announcement made in June by King Mohammed VI to take charge of the repatriation of minors, collaboration with Rabat remains difficult.

To read: Ceuta to Reject 96% of Migrant Asylum Claims, Impose EU Entry Bans

This is why Bustillo is calling on the Spanish government to accelerate the reform of immigration regulations in order to facilitate the transition to adulthood for unaccompanied minors and adolescents I apologize, but I don’t have any content to work with to create a headline. The original title, summary, and first paragraph sections are all empty in your request. Without specific information about the news story, I cannot generate an appropriate headline. If you provide the relevant details about the article, I’d be happy to craft a headline based on that information.. This would allow residence and work permits to be automatically established for the latter from the age of 16 and would simplify the renewal conditions at the age of 18.

For its part, Morocco has fortified its borders with Ceuta, both at the level of Tarajal and Benzú, and has deployed a stronger security system there, in order to prevent the recurrence of events like those that occurred on May 17 and 18.