Spain interior minister: child migrants 'wanted to go home'

Spain’s interior minister says that unaccompanied child migrants being sent back to Morocco in groups of 15 at a time wanted to go home

MADRID -- Spain’s interior minister on Monday defended sending unaccompanied child migrants back to Morocco in groups of 15, saying they “wanted to go home,” and denied accusations by rights groups that the returns breach international law. Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told the Cadena SER radio station the return of the children from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta was “not an expulsion.” Vulnerable minors were not among those sent back, he said. “The best interest of the child is guaranteed,” the minister added. Spain is legally obliged to care for young migrants until their relatives can be located or until they turn 18, but Grande-Marlaska referred to a 2007 agreement between Spain and Morocco for assisted returns once children's cases had been considered.