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Newspaper: ‘More than 60% of homeless minors in Spain are Moroccans’

September 13, 2019 at 4:44 am

Homeless people in Spain [Wikipedia]

A report by the Spanish government, published by the Moroccan newspaper, Assabah, Thursday, revealed that the number of unaccompanied Moroccan minors, who have arrived in the through illegal migration, currently stands at 14,000, including some 4,000 who came in 2019.

According to the report, published by Spanish media platforms, the Moroccan minors represent 61.89 per cent of the total number of children who arrived in Spain. Thus, Moroccans came first according to statistics counting the rates of immigrants who arrived in the Iberian region; most of them are distributed between the provinces of Andalusia, Basque, Madrid and Valencia, as well as Murcia, Aragon, Canary Islands, Navarre, Ceuta and Melilla.

These minors, known as “mina,” have taken refuge in Spanish territory by sea, whether through death boats, hiding under international transport trucks or inside cavities specially made in cars used by human trafficking networks, in search of broader prospects to help their families and improve their social condition.

According to media sources, the Spanish authorities decided to “get rid” of unaccompanied Moroccan minors. These efforts come under an agreement between the Moroccan authorities and their Spanish counterparts.

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Based on a communication of the Immigration and Border Police in Spain, the same sources pointed out that the process of deporting Moroccan minors is part of a cooperative agreement between both countries. This effort is designed to prevent illegal migration of unaccompanied minors, granting them essential protection. On more than one occasion, they expressed dismay at the increasing pressure on the reception centres dedicated to minor immigrants in these areas.

Assabah indicated that despite criticism expressed by the Spanish Network for Immigration and Refugees and several human rights organisations, Madrid continues to implement its decisions. The newspaper also said that the decision to deport them was based on a detailed study prepared by the Spanish Ministry of Labour, Migrations, and Social Security. The report concludes that the minors are at risk of exploitation by the mafia of human trafficking and drug dealers.