PP and Vox avoid confrontation despite pressure over migrant minors and put the Government in the spotlight

The reception of migrant minors was the cause of the breakup of the regional governments of PP and Vox in July 2024, and the entry into Ceuta of more than 70,000 immigrants from Morocco – including minors among them – could test the alliance between both parties in four territories – Extremadura, Aragón, Castilla y León, and Andalusia. For now, PP and Vox have avoided confrontation and have focused on targeting Pedro Sánchez’s government for its management.

Read more Japan, between pacifism and rearmament

In this regard, both parties have signed an agreement in the four autonomous communities that rejects the reception of more migrant minors. The agreement states that the corresponding regional government “will oppose by all legal, judicial, and political means any mechanism for the distribution of illegal immigrants, both adults and minors.” Furthermore, they commit not to allocate more money to “finance or consolidate their entry, reception, or stay.”

The PP’s position, so far, follows this line and is something that Vox “positively” values, according to sources explained to La Vanguardia. In this sense, Deputy Secretary Elías Bendodo emphasized this Thursday that the PP will always comply with the law. For the Popular Party, this circumstance does not mean having to assume the distribution of minors who now saturate the care capacity of Ceuta and Melilla, but rather considering options such as family reunification or returning them to the social services of their countries of origin – in this case, mostly Morocco.

“I believe that in the documents signed in the autonomous communities with governments between PP and Vox, it is stated that they will comply with the law regarding irregular immigration. The current legislation will be complied with. The Popular Party always complies with the law on this matter as well,” Bendodo said from Málaga. In this regard, the Popular Party avoids explicitly talking about the distribution of minors and proposes other alternative legal ways for them to be returned to their country.

Bendodo elaborated on this idea: “What we say in the Popular Party is that all those who have entered illegally must legally leave.” Additionally, the PP leader insisted on targeting the Government, which is the one that has to solve “this problem it has created” without passing it on to the autonomous communities. “This is a problem created by the Government, I insist. It is the call effect and weakness. And this problem created by the Government, let the Government solve it. From the Popular Party, what I say is that we always comply with the law. We and our governments,” he stated.

Bendodo has demanded that Sánchez “get off the beach lounger” because he is on vacation and that he be held accountable in Parliament now. The PP has also requested the appearance of ministers Fernando Grande Marlaska, Margarita Robles, José Manuel Albares, and Félix Bolaños.

Read more The Anti-Fraud Office opens a file on the hiring of Orriols’ daughter as a local police officer

Furthermore, in recent hours, Deputy Secretary Alma Ezcurra has requested verification of the age of young people entering Ceuta to confirm that they are minors, a point that is in the agreement with Vox. Ezcurra herself has explained that, statistically, almost 50% of minors end up being adults, according to checks made in some autonomous communities.

This reaction from the PP is satisfying Vox, which assures that Alberto Núñez Feijóo’s party does “seem willing to fight.” “The opposite of what it did in 2024, when it forced us out of the governments,” add sources from Abascal’s party, who recall that the government pact “includes opposing further distributions.” Vox also targets the Government and is preparing a “well-founded” legal battle for it to assume responsibility for what happened and return the minors. “Morocco has said it will take in the minors,” insist Abascal’s party. “The State’s primary obligation is to promote the return of minors with their parents or to the Moroccan institutions responsible for looking after minors,” they add, in line with what the PP defends.

In this regard, Vox is also preparing in case the Government “insists” on distributing minors “without using the necessary means to seek their return”: “It will be the Government that is acting unlawfully, as is clear in all international legislation.” “Minors must be with their parents. And if that is not possible, in the institutions of their country,” they conclude.

PP and Vox, aware that the distribution of migrant minors could become a Government option to destabilize the right-wing bloc, are opting to close ranks.

Read more Sabah Hamed, the woman from Ceuta who has turned her home into a humanitarian aid point and attends to about 400 migrants a day: “They have gone days without eating”