Andalusian leader accuses Spanish government of misclassifying migrant minors
Juanma Moreno Bonilla says the central government has labeled many adult migrants as minors and allowed them to enter through a service gate.
Juanma Moreno Bonilla, president of the Junta de Andalucía, accused the Spanish government of deliberately misrepresenting the age of migrants arriving after the July Ceuta assault. He argued that officials have classified a substantial portion of the newcomers as minors to facilitate their entry, citing a figure of 700 individuals entered through a service gate. Moreno said medical examinations showed a significant share were actually adults, calling the practice a lack of institutional loyalty.
He also highlighted that reception centres in Andalusia and elsewhere are close to failure due to the influx. The controversy adds pressure on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s administration, which has faced criticism for its handling of the migration surge.
How this story developed
- Aug 21 Spanish police detain five suspected migrant smugglers operating from Ceuta
- Sep 8 The Council of Ministers scheduled a vote on declassification Tuesday, with the documents to be released to the public on Wednesday.
- Sep 9 Ceuta mayor‑president Juan Jesús Vivas publicly urged the EU to boost funding and security for the enclave’s border.
- Sep 9 The EU approved a financial package for Ceuta border controls and pledged additional Frontex support.
- Sep 9 The interior ministry publicly acknowledged creating the dossier.
- Sep 10 Government criticized for declassifying security alerts and for claiming the warning was only a low‑level WhatsApp message.
- Sep 10 Judge María Tardón filed a request for copies of the declassified intelligence reports.
- Sep 10 Regional economy minister asserted that the national government possessed advance intelligence on the Ceuta crossing and did not implement preventive measures.
- Sep 11 Czech and Hungarian leaders condemned the EU’s emergency aid for Ceuta.
- Sep 12 A police‑commissioned report described Moroccan border police as unusually sparse and granting migrants “total permission.”
- Sep 13 Minister Sira Rego urged autonomous communities to assume responsibility for Ceuta’s unaccompanied minors.
- Sep 13 The foreign minister announced an urgent trip to Brussels for talks with EU officials.
- Sep 16 After intense negotiations, the European Parliament approved a resolution introduced by the Partido Popular that calls on Morocco, as a key EU partner, to fulfill its border-management and migration-return obligations. The text labels the Ceuta event as an invasion and condemns Morocco's demands over the sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla as unacceptable. Conservative groups supported the measure, while the PSOE-led socialist bloc opposed it.
- Sep 17 The European Parliament adopted the revised Ceuta resolution after intense negotiations.
Related stories
61 in this thread