The Arrival of 'menas' to Catalonia Doesn't Cease: January 2025, the Third Worst Year

The arrival of unjoined foreign minors in Catalonia remains a chronic problem. During January 2025, a total of 191 'menas' arrived in Catalan territory. This is the third highest number in the first 31 days of the year since records have been kept.

The 191 'menas' who landed in Catalonia in January 2025 is a significantly lower figure than those who arrived in the first month of last year (371). However, beyond 2024, only in 2019 were the 191 arrivals exceeded (with 239).

The arrivals of 'menas' in Catalonia do not have a clear pattern throughout the year. Generally, the number is higher at the beginning of the year and decreases throughout the spring, rising from early summer until December. However, it is not always the same, making it difficult to project how many minors might arrive in 2025.

If the median stabilizes at these 191 arrivals (which would mean 2,292), this year would rank as the fifth highest since records have been kept, but the lowest of the last four years. In fact, the chronic nature of this phenomenon would be clear: more than 2,000 would have arrived since 2019 (except for the hardest years of the pandemic).

Of the 191 'menas' who have arrived in Catalonia in 2025, 55.5% are Maghrebis and 40.8% are from sub-Saharan countries. 89.1% are men and the areas that have received the most are Barcelona (33.7%) and Girona (20.4%).

Problems Accommodating 'Menas'

Despite the left's narrative, accommodating 'menas' is a headache for the administration. Generalitat admitted some time ago that it spends a minimum of 100 million euros annually to accommodate these foreign minors. A figure that is actually higher but has never been disclosed.

Beyond the economic cost it represents, the problem also lies in the capacity to manage these massive arrivals. The fact that many of these young people have to sleep poorly in Mossos d'Esquadra police stations due to the lack of spaces where Generalitat can place them is a clear example of how the administration is overwhelmed by the wave of 'menas' arrivals.