The arrival of unaccompanied migrant minors (mena) to Catalonia has increased in recent months due to the great landing of immigrants in boats in the Canary Islands. This has been translated again with the presence of migrant minors in points of the Catalan geography that They are looking for a reception center to settle in. To get one of these resources they often go to police stations. of the Mossos d’Esquadra because they know that is where the procedures will begin. They can spend hours or even the night in these rooms. Others also come to the police stations because they are picked up by agents that they find them on local streets. This same situation happened especially between 2018 and 2019 and has now been repeated.
“Assistance task”
In the Girona regions, this landing of menas has been noticed and has meant seeing young people who are in police stations until they have a center. The month of December began to be noticed more and more and this January it is being repeated. However, the police assure that it is a situation that is experienced throughout Catalonia.
One of the cases in which it is most evident is the Mossos d’Esquadra police station in Vista Alegre, in the city of Girona. Here the situation becomes visible to many citizens, since the mena are seen from the outside. They are installed in a room next to the glass entrance door. They are often seen with blankets and mattresses provided by the police force to while away the hours.
The Mossos d’Esquadra emphasize that the children are installed in this space until the Generalitat finishes carrying out the procedures to provide them with a center to enter. They also admit that in the case of Girona there are migrant minors without family who have had to spend the night there and that in the end, their work is of a welfare nature. That is, they attend to their basic needs until they are referred to a public resource.
The age test
‘Diari de Girona’ has asked the Department of Social Affairs of the Generalitat about this situation and they admit that recently there has been an increase in arrivals of young people who have migrated alone due to the contingent of immigrants from the Canary Islands.
Regarding their presence in police stations, they claim that it is due to the checks that must be carried out to prove that they are minors. From the department they assure that “if the minority is undoubted or they have some document that proves it, They immediately enter the child care system, that is, in a center”.
On the other hand, “if this is not the case, they must remain at the police station until the Prosecutor’s Office, not the Generalitat, carries out the appropriate age tests.” They are medical tests that are performed at the Institute of Legal and Forensic Medicine and that They must prove the age of the young person. Previously, they were made to all migrants who claimed to be minors, but for four years, if they prove with an official passport that they are minors and the document is authentic, they are no longer necessary.
The Generalitat, for its part, argues that the need for these verifications lies in the fact that “it may be that the registration that has been made of these young people outside of Catalonia is as an adult and when they arrive here and when they arrive they are minors.” Finally, they emphasize that «Catalonia protects all minors who need protection. Ensures their rights and their protection in their equipment. And that also means preventing there are people of legal age in your child protection system».
The arrival of migrant minors helpless is not something new and six years ago the same situation began to occur in Mossos d’Esquadra police stations throughout Catalonia. On that occasion there were also some complaints such as those from the police unions themselves who asked for a protocol with the DGAIA (General Directorate of Care for Children and Adolescents) and also recalled that once a center has been assigned to minors, it is the Mossos that must transfer them.
293 arrivals in Girona
Up to 293 migrant youth and minors landed in the regions of Girona during 2023. This is shown by public data from the Department of Social Rights. Analyzing the data from 2015 you can see how That year 15 young migrants arrived while the following year 79 and then there was a jump to 209 in 2017. In 2018, as it was noticed in the police stations, it is the year in which there was the peakwith a total of 406 young people. From there, the number of migrants landing in Girona dropped again to 264 in 2019. It is not until 2022 that the curve rises again and 369 young people arrive. While last year there was a drop to 293. Public data does not include this year yet. Last year’s peak occurred in December with 43 emigrants. The trend in Catalonia is the same and it is worth noting that in 2018, 3,709 adolescents and young migrants arrived alone. While last year there were 2,319.
Related news
Regarding the young people who were in Generalitat resources in 2013, it should be noted that there were 572 migrants welcomed by the DGAIA (43%) or in residential centers (61.4%). Of these, 93.2% were men. Regarding ages, 94% were young people over 16 years old. The 17-year-old represents 40.4% of all.
Regarding its origin, andl 42.8% were from Morocco and 38.7% from sub-Saharan countries. It should be noted that there were also 7.7% from Ukraine.