The vice president and councilor for Social Services, Equality and Housing, Susana Camarero, defended yesterday the values of solidarity, responsibility, and humanity shown by the regional government in caring for migrant unaccompanied minors in the Valencian Community, in contrast to what she called the government in Madrid lacks a coherent migratory policy.
The deputy leader stressed that this is a duty “carried out without engaging the Government of Spain, which has no migratory policy,” during a visit to the Las Virtudes residence in Villena, a facility with a migrant project coordinated by the Generalitat. The center is equipped to house 92 migrant minors and stands as one of the resources the Department of Social Services uses to support unaccompanied minors in the Valencian care system. Camarero was accompanied by the general director of Family, Childhood and Adolescence and Demographic Challenge, Angélica Such; the territorial director of Social Services in Alicante, Juan Manuel Galbis; and the center’s director, Inmaculada Abad.
During the same day, the vice president met in Alicante with managers of reception centers for minors, who perform the initial assessments for those arriving on our shores on rickety boats, and highlighted the hard work of professionals and the coordination of all resources to provide the care these youths require.
She also noted the financial effort from the department to support these services through local resources, not relying on a single euro from the central government, and stressed that this includes not only youths arriving on the coast but also those arriving from other autonomous communities.
“We have urged the Government to cover the costs for these minors who have entered the higher cap limits due to the executive’s lack of a migratory policy,” she added.
In addition, Camarero recalled that, just this summer, nearly thirty boats reached the Valencian coast, among them 17 unaccompanied minors who are already under the care of the department. These minors are part of the 475 unaccompanied youths currently under guardianship in regional centers, a figure that keeps overcrowding above 150 percent, with capacity for 317 places, she explained.
The vice president accused the Spanish government of “insolidarity, neglect of duties, and a failure to plan,” and called for an urgent summit of regional presidents to address the crisis as a state policy. She warned that the central government must take responsibility and stop relying solely on regional solidarity without providing resources.
In that regard, she insisted that the Government should establish a common migratory policy that allows for the future of migrants and, in particular, the minors under public guardianship across administrations.