[EN] Torres asks for «collaboration» from the opposition and warns that there can be no returns of migrants «immediately»

The Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, has asked this Thursday for «collaboration» from the rest of the opposition groups to tackle «as soon as possible» the migratory crisis in Ceuta and pointed out that there can be no returns «immediately» that are in accordance with the law.

This is how Torres responded to the parliamentary groups during his appearance before the Joint Committee on National Security to report on the crisis created in Ceuta by the entry of more than 70,000 migrants from Morocco on 30 and 31 July.

HAND OUTSTRETCHED TO THE OPPOSITION

In his initial speech, the minister extended his hand to the parliamentary groups and, looking at the PP, to the opposition, and pointed out that «a lot can be done from the management areas and also from the Government, but also a lot from the opposition».

«Therefore, I extend my hand to all groups so that, defending international law and human rights, we help the people of Ceuta so that normality is achieved as soon as possible,» he said. He also rejected that there can be immediate returns in accordance with the law and stressed that these matters «require the time dictated by the rules».

Torres also stressed that together with the Ministries of Economy and Finance, the Government is working on proposals for economic reactivation to tackle the effects of the crisis. Torres considered that the massive arrival of people to the city has generated an «objective» impact that must be compensated «from the public».

The minister has specified that the Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office has a total of 1,475 migrant minors in Ceuta. In addition, he explained that about 1,400 of them are distributed in 15 spaces, to which are added some 300 girls who are being cared for in neighborhood groups. These figures, he indicated, represent an increase of 1,000 affiliated minors compared to the population assisted in Ceuta before July 31. In any case, he has specified that the device has not concluded, since there are still people pending to be affiliated by the competent authorities.

He also addressed the population of Ceuta, insisting that the use of these spaces is «temporary» and that the priority is return «always on the margins of the law». Torres also wanted to send a «strong message against violence»: «You cannot attack Ceuta Muslims or migrants just because they are Muslims». In this line, he criticised those who harass Red Cross professionals for attending to foreigners or journalists who report on the situation in the autonomous city.

JUNTS WARNING

In the turn of the parliamentary groups, the Junts deputy Josep Pagès stood out, who reminded Torres that a year ago his party agreed with the Government to limit the arrival of unaccompanied minors in Catalonia during the crisis in the Canary Islands, based on the incorporation of a compensation criterion for historical effort of reception.

«We tell him that the criteria approved in 2025 are not single-use but are still in force,» he warned. On the other hand, he pointed out that «it is evident» that the process of regularization of immigrants launched by the Government before the summer and the Supreme Court ruling on ‘hot returns’ have caused «a pull effect that led to the massive jump at the end of July in Ceuta.»

DOUBTS IF YOU ARE PREPARED FOR ANOTHER ARRIVAL

For his part, Compromís deputy Enric Morera asked the minister if the government is prepared «for another new situation of this calibre», after explaining that the Moroccan Minister of the Interior asserted that Ceuta belongs to his country and that young people have the right to free movement. Morera recalled the situation in the Sahara and called for greater European cooperation since «it is a powder keg and the populations are desperate».

PP senator Cristina Díaz insisted that «rules must be created so that the return is quick», while calling the government of Pedro Sánchez «inept». «They failed before, during and after the invasion. They did not foresee it, they did not know how to respond and almost a month later this government still has not returned normality to the people of Ceuta,» she said, referring to Torres as a «broken command of a government that is broken».

In his turn to speak, the deputy of Vox, José María Sánchez Galera, called the Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes, Félix Bolaños, a «donkey» and «ignorant», who appeared earlier, to add that «every day he gives evidence that he is ignorant and a donkey».