<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>CEUTA, Spain (AP) —</strong> Hundreds of teenage migrants lined up outside a church in Ceuta in early October, hoping Spain’s visiting minister of youth would provide them with news about shelter or passage to continental Europe.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">For two months, they had been sleeping on cardboard sheets and ripped sofas in makeshift camps or on the streets of the Spanish city, which is located in North Africa and juts into the Mediterranean. On clear days, southern Spain is visible on the horizon.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Among them was a 17-year-old aspiring model from northern Morocco. In late July, he crossed into Ceuta with approximately 80,000 others during what has been described as Spain’s deadliest border crisis.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Pray for me!” he told an Associated Press reporter. However, the teens were directed down a steep hill to a soccer field to avoid overwhelming the minister. Within hours, many returned to the streets.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img alt="A 17-year-old aspiring model from northern Morocco, who did not want his name used because he was unaccompanied and feared for his safety, poses for a photograph during an interview near El Trampolín Beach in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. " class="wp-image-4762150" height="682" src="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26281592332612.jpg?w=696" width="1024" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A 17-year-old aspiring model from northern Morocco, who did not want his name used because he was unaccompanied and feared for his safety, poses for a photograph during an interview near El Trampolín Beach in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)</figcaption></figure>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This situation highlights the Spanish government’s slow and often improvised response to the migration crisis in the territory. Thousands of minors have arrived in Ceuta alone, and under Spanish law, they are entitled to shelter, healthcare, and education. Experts recognize the challenges faced by authorities but suggest that the government may be hoping many will choose to return home.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I was expecting a really easy experience,” said the 17-year-old, who did not want his name used due to his unaccompanied status. “I was expecting two to three weeks of this.”</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-children-fend-for-themselves-in-a-foreign-country">Children Fend for Themselves in a Foreign Country</h2>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Makeshift camps with adults and children have emerged on beaches, at warehouses, and on hillsides since tens of thousands of people swam or climbed around a breakwater separating Morocco from Ceuta in July. Approximately 140 people died attempting the crossing. Most of those who made it left within days, but officials do not have an exact count of how many remained.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">A few thousand people lived in one beachside camp where conditions were poor. Children as young as 13 slept and showered among adult men, who often engaged in fights.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img alt="Migrants, some of them minors, sleep on El Trampolín Beach in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026." class="wp-image-4762151" height="682" src="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26281592281046.jpg?w=696" width="1024" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Migrants, some of them minors, sleep on El Trampolín Beach in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)</figcaption></figure>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Elsewhere, minors sought refuge in the narrow streets of predominantly Muslim neighborhoods.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Our streets are littered with kids,” said Ahmed Enfed-Dal, the president of a neighborhood association.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Spanish prosecutors are investigating reports of torture and mistreatment of migrants, including minors. In September, Amnesty International published a report detailing allegations of cruel and degrading treatment by Spanish soldiers, as well as unsafe conditions for underage migrants and allegations of sexual abuse of girls.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In early October, the 17-year-old reported sleeping in a car with other teens from Morocco. Initially, he had slept in a garage with two other minors, where a resident charged them each 15 euros ($17) per night. Unable to continue paying, he returned to the streets.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“People tried to rob me twice and hit me,” he said. As weeks turned into months, he began to question his decision to stay, feeling he could not return to Morocco.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Like many Moroccan teens, he stated that his high school diploma offered limited opportunities back home. In Tetouan, located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Ceuta, he worked with his father as a butcher. He mentioned that his family encouraged him to stay.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Morocco is a good tourist place,” he said. “But it’s not a good place to be a citizen.”</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-political-blame-game-hardens">A Political Blame Game Hardens</h2>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Minors who reach Spanish soil alone are the responsibility of regional governments or, in Ceuta’s case, the city. Under Spanish law, a child can only be sent back to their home country under specific circumstances.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Spain’s national government has instructed Ceuta to process minors on a case-by-case basis, approving over 90 million euros ($101 million) in funding, but the city claims it lacks the resources. Spain’s Youth Minister Sira Rego stated that most minors in Ceuta wish to remain in Spain, asserting, “they will do so,” during an interview with Spanish radio station Cadena Ser.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">However, Ceuta’s Mayor Juan Vivas has urged national authorities to find a way to repatriate the minors to Morocco.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“It’s easy to judge from over there,” Vivas said in September. “But you’ve got to be here.”</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-no-one-knows-how-many-migrants-stayed">No One Knows How Many Migrants Stayed</h2>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The two sides have also disagreed on the number of migrants remaining in Ceuta.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">After the initial border surge, Spain’s interior minister stated that all but 2,000 people had returned to Morocco. However, Spain revised the figure to up to 10,000 migrants in September. Ceuta’s mayor claims that up to 15,000 people remain, acknowledging that “the figure changes from one day to the next.”</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img alt="Moroccan minors gather on El Trampolín Beach during a protest demanding access to government-run centers for minors in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. " class="wp-image-4762152" height="682" src="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26281592296315.jpg?w=696" width="1024" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Moroccan minors gather on El Trampolín Beach during a protest demanding access to government-run centers for minors in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)</figcaption></figure>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Estimates of the number of unaccompanied minors have also varied. Authorities indicate that thousands remain in the city, though it is unclear how many are unsheltered.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Rights groups have criticized Spain for not having a clear count of the minors.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“We understand that the protection system is currently overwhelmed, but that does not change the fact that there should be an official registry of all individuals in the city who declare themselves to be minors,” stated Jennifer Zuppiroli, a migration expert at Save the Children in Spain.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-some-remain-in-vulnerable-situations">Some Remain in Vulnerable Situations</h2>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">As more minors have entered shelters, those still waiting are growing increasingly weary.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">For weeks, the aspiring model visited the beachside tent camp to collect food from the Red Cross. He and dozens of migrant boys staged small demonstrations, appealing to authorities for assistance.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“We just want one thing — that Spain protects minors. Long live Spain!” read a tattered sign held up by boys as young as 13 as traffic passed by.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In early October, Spanish police began bulldozing the camp and clearing debris. Groups of migrants were bused to other locations. Rights groups reported that some minors were taken to the border.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Through WhatsApp, the 17-year-old learned that some teenagers had been taken from the beach by police. Some ended up in shelters, which disappointed him as it occurred on the one day he did not visit the camp.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Fearing that police would send him back to Morocco, he has remained hidden.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I’m feeling tired for the first time since I came,” he said. “It’s been two months and we’re still living in the streets.”</p>