The central government allocates more than 900,000 euros to the Region of Murcia to care for unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents

The Council of Ministers approved this Tuesday, at the proposal of the Ministry of Social Rights and the 2030 Agenda, the distribution of 927,671.23 euros to the Region of Murcia for the care of unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents, who will be welcomed by the Community, from the Spanish territories with the highest number of minors, according to sources from the Government Delegation in a statement.

The provision for the autonomous communities and the city of Ceuta amounts to 20 million euros, which corresponds to the second payment of the total of 35 million budgeted by the Ministry of Social Rights and the 2030 Agenda. The first 15 million were allocated to the Canary Islands and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla, main arrival points for migrants.

“For the Ministry of Social Rights and for the Government as a whole, it is crucial to continue supporting the autonomous communities and, in particular, the Canary Islands and the city of Ceuta in their work to welcome migrant minors who arrive alone in our country. The well-being and the best interest of the minor must prevail in the care of these children and adolescents”, explained the Secretary of State for Social Rights, Nacho Álvarez.

The territorial distribution of these 20 million euros is part of the Response Plan to the migratory crisis for minors that the Government launched for the transfer of migrant children and adolescents who travel alone. In this way, the territories that do not have sufficient resources to guarantee the protection of these minors are supported.

“This second budget allocation is the result of the work derived from the lasting response mechanisms established by this Government to face the challenges faced by the autonomous communities and cities. The response to reception situations must always be articulated from co-responsibility. I want to thank again all the Social Policy Ministries of the Autonomous Communities for their continued efforts in terms of protecting these boys and girls”, Álvarez added.

Commitment to the protection of these minors

Since mid-2020, the arrival of unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents in Spanish territory has had a significant impact on the means and resources available by the public child protection entities of the autonomous communities and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla.

The attention to these people presents great differences for the different autonomous communities due to their geographical location. Thus, the autonomous community of the Canary Islands and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla are affected by greater migratory pressure than other territories, as they are preferential access points for migratory routes from Africa to Europe.

Among the migrants who enter their territories is a significant number of unaccompanied minors. These migratory flows and their subsequent permanence in our country require that the public authorities grant adequate protection, based on collaboration and solidarity between the territories. For this reason, the Government, in collaboration with the regional governments, established in 2022 a migratory contingency management model for unaccompanied children and adolescents that allows children to be transferred between the different autonomous communities.

The Sectoral Conference on Childhood and Adolescence will definitively approve, in the coming days, the fostering of minors by the autonomous communities and the territorial distribution of this budget appropriation.