Spain plans to transfer around 500 particularly vulnerable unaccompanied minors from the Spanish exclave of Ceuta in North Africa to the mainland, Migration Minister Elma Saiz said in an interview with public broadcaster RNE on Wednesday.
Saiz said the central government in Madrid was working together with Ceuta authorities and Spain's regional governments on a plan to relocate the children, who would be placed under the care of child protection organizations on the mainland.
Spanish media reported that the plan envisages "the binding and solidarity-based reception of minors by all regions" of Spain, as well as placements with foster families. The figure of around 500 minors is provisional and may change.
The move comes as Spain's pro-immigration government seeks to respond to the mass arrival of migrants in Ceuta at the end of July, when up to 80,000 people entered the tiny Spanish territory bordering Morocco.
Official figures say 83 bodies were recovered from the sea after the incident, though non-governmental organizations put the death toll at well over a hundred.
The vast majority of those who arrived in July returned to Morocco shortly afterwards.
Nonetheless, state broadcaster RTVE reported that Spain's national police had identified 2,168 unaccompanied minors in Ceuta and handed them over to the exclave's authorities.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said around 5,000 migrants remained in Ceuta.
Providing for and housing these people - who come not only from Morocco but also from sub-Saharan African countries - continues to pose major challenges for the authorities. Particular concern surrounds the unaccompanied minors still in the exclave, including many girls.
Saiz said she could not yet provide details of the relocation plan, but stressed that the "overriding interest of the child" must be protected.
Ceuta is also due to receive €25 million ($29 million) in financial support. Spain has applied to the European Union for emergency funding.
