Why the Junts-PSOE Pact Won't Stop the Arrival of Unjoined Minors in Catalonia

Junts have proclaimed to the four winds a new success in their negotiations with PSOE by securing the agreement on the distribution of unjoined minors. The headlines say that Catalonia will receive only 20 or 30 minors out of the 4,000 waiting in the Canary Islands to be distributed throughout the State. The reality is that the agreement will have little or no impact on the arrival of unjoined foreign minors to Catalonia.

El Periódico reports today that out of the 2,650 unjoined minors attended by the Generalitat last year, only 31 came from the mandatory distribution from the Canary Islands and Ceuta. The rest arrived on their own, attracted among other things by the pull effect of a generous protection system. So far this year, 347 have already arrived, about two hundred more compared to previous years.

In Catalonia, there is a clear problem with the reception of these minors, which goes beyond the distribution among communities. This is the reason why the agreement between Junts and PSOE will not stop the arrival of unjoined minors.

More Than 14,000 Arrivals Since 2017

Catalonia is the only community that offers a benefit to minors under guardianship after reaching the age of majority until the age of 23. It is an aid of 664 euros for young people with a minimum of one year of guardianship and regardless of their nationality. Many of these unjoined foreign minors see better conditions in Catalonia to settle and want to seek a future.

In addition to the economic conditions, Catalonia has had pro-immigration governments over the years that have promoted reception. This has multiplied the arrival of teenagers in the last ten years.

2017 was a turning point with the arrival of 1,438 children and teenagers without the company of their parents or a legal guardian. In 2018, the record was broken with 3,708 entries, and since then the numbers have not stopped growing. The migration crisis of 2023 and 2024 has skyrocketed arrivals far beyond the available resources.

Pull Effect from the Govern

The latest data from the Generalitat spoke of 2,600 minors under guardianship and 4,390 adults with "assistance extension" under the responsibility of the public administration. The Department of Social Rights of the last ERC government complained to the Government about the lack of resources to care for these minors. But ERC has been precisely one of the parties that has most strongly defended the need to indiscriminately welcome them.

Although no longer in government, Esquerra continues to set the guidelines for Salvador Illa's executive on issues such as immigration. Without a change in their orientation, the limitation agreed upon by Junts will not have a real impact. Catalonia remains for now the favorite destination for minors coming from other communities.