The article reports that one month after a surge of migrants entered Ceuta, Spain, thousands of unaccompanied minors remain stranded on the streets. According to the Spanish Interior Ministry, 2,500 "children and adolescents" have been registered in Ceuta so far, but many experts believe the actual number could be much higher. The minors, mostly from Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa, live in vulnerable conditions, with around 700 being girls under the age of 13. Spain's Minister for Youth and Children acknowledges that family reunification is the priority, but notes that there may not be a possibility of return for many of the migrants.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
A month after migrants surged into Ceuta, thousands of kids are still stranded on the streets
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thousands → surge → streets
Spain's Interior Ministry has registered 2,500 'children and adolescents' in Ceuta so far
"
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Ministry → register → Ceuta
I'm back on the street," 17-year-old Ikram wrote in a text message to CBC on Monday.
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Ikram → write → Monday
For a brief period, Ikram had felt relief in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
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Ikram → feel → Ceuta
After spending almost a month sleeping in a forest, an abandoned bathhouse and on the street, the young Moroccan had finally found somewhere to stay.
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Moroccan → spend → street
For three days, a family had hosted her as she helped look after their young children.
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she → host → children
Then the work ran out.
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work → run → ?
Ikram left the Moroccan coastal town of Fnideq at the end of July, when an estimated 80,000 Moroccans and migrants from countries further south travelled to the north, hoping to cross into Ceuta.
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Moroccans → leave → Ceuta
For many, the Spanish territory represents a possible route toward legal residency in Europe.
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territory → represent → Europe
"In Morocco we are living, but not living the life we want," she said.
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she → live → life
Her father works as a tailor but earns little.
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father → work → little
Most of the migrants who arrived during the July surge returned to Morocco within hours.
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who → arrive → hours
But Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said 5,000 remain in Ceuta.
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5,000 → say → Ceuta
Local authorities estimate 9,000 remain in and around the small enclave, whose population is roughly 80,000.
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population → estimate → enclave
A Moroccan soccer player dreamed of Europe — but died on her way to Ceuta
Hundreds of migrants in Spain's Ceuta enclave protest for asylum, against deportation to Morocco
Among those who remain are hundreds of unaccompanied minors, including Ikram, living in extremely vulnerable conditions.
Many minors under 13, Spain says
According to Jennifer Zuppiroli, a migration specialist at Save the Children Spain, the Spanish Ministry of the Interior has registered 2,500 "children and adolescents" in Ceuta so far.
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Ministry → dream → Ceuta
"Various social and neighborhood organizations estimate that there could still be thousands of minors awaiting identification and referral to protection services," Zuppiroli told CBC News.
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Zuppiroli → estimate → News
Spain's Minister for Youth and Children, Sira Rego, said many of the minors are under the age of 13 and that around 700 of the migrant minors were girls.
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700 → say → minors
Most of the children and adolescents in Ceuta are from Morocco, Zuppiroli says, although minors from other countries are also there, particularly from sub-Saharan Africa, including Sudan.
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minors → say → Sudan
(CBC is not using the last names of the migrants in this story because they fear deportation and reprisals from locals.
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they → use → locals
For this reason, CBC is also not showing the faces of some of the migrants.)
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CBC → show → migrants
Rego has reiterated that family reunification is the priority while acknowledging that "in most cases, there is no possibility of return."
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reunification → reiterate → return
Under international law, the removal of unaccompanied minors is subject to strict safeguards, including the requirement to consider the child's best interests.
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removal → include → interests
Ikram had tried to reach Ceuta alone during a previous mass crossing attempt in 2024.
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Ikram → try → 2024
This time, however, she hadn't actually planned to go.
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she → plan → ?
"My mom told me in the morning that people were crossing.
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people → tell → morning
Then, on my way to work, I met a friend who told me to go.
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who → meet → me
I told her, 'No, I have a job.'
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I → tell → job
She said, 'Let's just go and see.'
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's → say → ?
And then I said, 'OK, let's go,' and we went."
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we → say → ?
At the border, they were confronted with a scene of chaos, with hundreds of people trying to swim around the border fence.
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hundreds → confront → fence
"We saw so many dead people," Ikram said.
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Ikram → see → people
"Still I said, let me try my luck, and I went in.
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I → say → luck
I almost died, too.
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I → die → ?
I kept crying, and then I couldn't go on anymore."
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I → keep → ?
One boy helped keep her afloat.
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boy → help → her
"He kept pushing me, pushing me until I reached the shore."
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I → keep → shore
When Ikram eventually reached the beach, she fainted and was taken to hospital.
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she → reach → hospital
She was released the following day.
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She → release → ?
Her 15-year-old brother, Marwan, had crossed the land border earlier that day but left shortly afterward.
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brother → cross → border
"He couldn't handle it," Ikram said, referring to the dire situation for migrants in Ceuta.
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Ikram → handle → Ceuta
…and 40 more, not listed.
