Unaccompanied minors are being given out by the government, accompanied by ten referrals, in the Peninsula region
News Article: Unaccompanied Migrant Minors Begin Relocation from Canary Islands to Mainland Spain
The relocation process for unaccompanied migrant minors seeking asylum from the Canary Islands to mainland Spain has officially begun as of August 11, 2025. Around 800 unaccompanied minors are planned to be transferred in total, with the possibility of up to 1,000 in all.
The minors are asylum seekers who arrived and currently reside in the Canary Islands. They are being transferred to state-run reception centers on the Spanish Peninsula. For example, a reception center is located in Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid.
The government is carrying out relocations in two weekly transfers, with the first batch of 10 minors having been relocated on August 11, 2025. Among the applicants, profiles from Mali predominate, as well as girls and adolescents who require differentiated attention for gender and security reasons. Many of these minors flee armed conflicts and arrive completely alone in the country.
The transfers are being conducted under a Supreme Court order and a government decree issued in March 2025, making the relocation mandatory. However, there has been political tension primarily between the central Spanish government and some Popular Party (PP)-led regional governments, which have shown resistance or delays.
Despite opposition from some regional authorities, the central government, led by Minister Elma Sanz, has insisted that all autonomous regions must cooperate and accept the distribution of these minors without exceptions starting from the end of August 2025. Among the PP-governed territories, only Ceuta participated in meetings related to the distribution, despite increasing migration pressure there.
Engloba, the collaborating entity in the Canary Islands, has conducted individual interviews with the minors who have shown a willingness to move to the Peninsula. The Canarian President, Fernando Clavijo, has stated that state measures are "insufficient" in handling the structural collapse of managing unaccompanied migrant minors.
From this first referral, there will be two weekly transfers of between 15 and 20 young people. The central government and the archipelago government will maintain an interadministrative meeting every Tuesday to work on the transfer of these asylum-seeking minors. The reform of article 35 of the Immigration Law establishes a "mandatory solidarity" for these minors.
The Supreme Court's intervention was decisive in unlocking the situation, ordering the central government to assume responsibility and organize the relocation of these minors. Eleven autonomous communities, most of them governed by the Popular Party, have appealed the Royal Decree to the Constitutional Court and boycotted the Executive in the sectorial meeting of July 17.
[1] "El Gobierno inicia el proceso de relocalización de menores migrantes sin acompañantes desde Canarias a la península." La Vanguardia. August 11, 2025.
[2] "El Gobierno pone en marcha la relocalización de menores migrantes en Canarias." El País. August 11, 2025.
[3] "La relocalización de menores migrantes sin acompañantes comienza desde Canarias." ABC. August 11, 2025.
- The policy-and-legislation surrounding the relocation of unaccompanied migrant minors from the Canary Islands to mainland Spain is currently being debated among regional authorities, with some showing resistance due to political reasons.
- The average number of unaccompanied migrant minors planned to be relocated from the Canary Islands to mainland Spain each week is between 15 and 20, according to the latest general-news reports.
