The Spanish enclave's former prefect and former vice governor have been accused of violating the law. Meanwhile, arrivals in Ceuta are rapidly increasing.
In mid-May 2021, the Moroccan authorities opened the Tarajal border, allowing approximately 10,000 migrants to enter the small Spanish enclave of Ceuta in Morocco.
Two months later, the government of the autonomous city ordered the repatriation of 55 underage migrants to Morocco through an expulsion procedure halted by the Administrative Court in response to complaints from human rights NGOs.
On Tuesday (April 2), the Court of Cadiz in Andalusia indicted former Ceuta prefect Salvadora Mateos and former vice-governor Mabel Deu on charges of continuous abuse of administrative office.
This was reported by judicial sources cited by the local newspaper El Faro de Ceuta.
'Expulsion violated national and international laws on child protection'
According to the magistrate who handled the case, the expulsion of the 15 and 16-year-old migrants to Morocco violated national and international laws protecting minors.
Now the former prefect and vice-governor, the only defendants in the case, face penalties of up to 15 years of disqualification from public office.
Salvadora Mateos, who was removed from the position of government delegate in October 2022, and Mabel Deu, who has since returned to teaching, argued in rejected appeals that they acted on orders from the central government, reports Efe.
Arrivals increasing in Ceuta
The arrivals to Ceuta are constant. At least 288 underage migrants arrived to the Spanish territory in the first three months of the year, compared to 43 who arrived in the same period in 2023, representing a 550% increase, according to data released on April 3 by the autonomous city's government.
Most of those who manage to cross the border cliffs of Tarajal and Benzu are male and between 16 and 17 years old. Only two of the 288 teenagers who arrived in the first trimester of 2024 were female.
The government of Ceuta reports overcrowding in the reception facility for protected minors, the La Esperanza center, which recorded 43 minor arrivals in January, 150 in February and 90 in March, with a capacity to accommodate a total of about a hundred people.
It is requesting "urgent intervention" from the Spanish state to redistribute underage migrants to other regions of the Iberian Peninsula.