Parliament rejects the return of 'menas' from Catalonia

Vox's parliamentary group proposed this week in Parliament the expulsion of unaccompanied foreign minors from Catalonia. The motion was rejected with votes against from PSC, Junts, ERC, Comuns, and CUP, and abstentions from PP and Aliança Catalana.

Vox MP Sergio Macián was in charge of defending the motion, using the slogan "no volem acollir." He strongly criticized the left and the separatists for having encouraged illegal immigration for years. However, he warned that this "has consequences," and that "anyone who lives next to a center for unaccompanied foreign minors or has crossed paths with them on the street knows it."

"It has consequences in the form of machete attacks, harassment of women, fights, and general insecurity," said the MP. He said that people used to laugh at Vox when they denounced it alone, and that "18,000 unaccompanied foreign minors later, now they're not laughing as much."

Vox asked Parliament to take a stand "in favor of the safety of Catalans and against the massive arrival of immigrants to the region." In the motion, they also called for the repatriation of the 7,000 unaccompanied foreign minors in Catalonia. Macián also recalled that 95% are male, and most come from Morocco and sub-Saharan countries.

Insecurity and collapse of public services

"A government that takes care of outsiders and abandons its own people is an unworthy government," Macián proclaimed. Vox called for the repatriation of unaccompanied foreign minors due to insecurity and the collapse of public services.

The MP recalled the recent case in Piera, a small town where a group of unaccompanied minors unleashed chaos with sticks and machetes. He also argued that "they can't allocate €4,374 ($4,374) to each of the foreign minors we have here, when 34% of Catalan children are at the poverty line or 12,000 people are on the waiting list for a nursing home spot."

PP and Aliança Catalana presented amendments to Vox's proposal. Sílvia Orriols said that "we Catalans would like the Generalitat to invest in our children what they invest in unaccompanied foreign minors." She proposed investing the money for unaccompanied foreign minors in Catalan youth, to improve birth rates and be able to pay pensions.

Juan Fernández said that "humanitarian responsibility must have limits" and that the situation in Catalonia "has to end." The PP MP argued that foreigners who commit crimes should be expelled, "whether they're unaccompanied foreign minors, adults, or pensioners."

Left and separatists vote against

Junts denied any link between unaccompanied foreign minors and insecurity, and described Vox's motion as "xenophobic" and "hate speech" from the "far right." MP Ennatu Domingo asserted that "there's no legal framework for the indiscriminate repatriation of unaccompanied foreign minors."

ERC's position was defended by former Interior Minister Joan Ignasi Elena. The MP asserted that among unaccompanied foreign minors "there will be all kinds," but that "they flee from horror" and "have rights." For him, Catalans' problems come from the accumulation of wealth by a few and not from the 18,000 unaccompanied foreign minors Catalonia has taken in over the past decade.

Comuns called on Vox to condemn attacks against centers for minors. Andrés García Berrio called for defending the rule of law and human rights as the best way to fight the far right and hate speech.

CUP said that social injustice isn't caused by unaccompanied foreign minors but by hate speech that covers up social inequalities. "Here, no child is illegal, and what we ask for is the deportation of the Spanish repressive system."

PSC also voted against, labeling Vox's claims as "falsehoods." The socialists denied that unaccompanied foreign minors come to live off handouts, stating that most study and work. They also denied that they receive a handout, but rather aid to live with dignity.