Hundreds of migrant minors stranded in Ceuta after border crisis

Hundreds of unaccompanied minors are stranded in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa, following a surge of migrants who swam across the border from Morocco. These children, many traumatized by witnessing drownings and separations from family, now face hunger and an uncertain future in Ceuta.

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I saw people stepping on the dead. Now we are children begging on the street.

An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 migrants avoided expulsion out of the roughly 60,000 who arrived. Among them are over 800 unaccompanied minors. One 17-year-old girl recounted seeing Spanish police recover her younger brother's body from the sea and being separated from her mother. "I saw people stepping on the dead," she told the Associated Press. "Now we are children begging on the street."

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Spanish law says adult migrants can apply for asylum, but the bar is normally set very high for Moroccans to be granted humanitarian protection. If rejected, they will face expulsion procedures.

Spanish law requires that unaccompanied minors receive immediate protection from child services. However, government facilities are reportedly full, forcing many to rely on locals for food and shelter. While adult migrants can apply for asylum, the process is difficult for Moroccans, and rejected applicants face expulsion. The situation highlights the dire circumstances faced by vulnerable children seeking a better life in Europe, with many sleeping on beaches and hillsides, gazing across the sea at their ultimate goal.

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When police identify young children and teenage migrants who are unaccompanied by adults, the minors must be granted protection and receive 'immediate attention' from Spanish child protection services.