Bizkaia takes in around fifty Gambian minors from Madrid's quota

Bizkaia takes in fifty minors from the Canary Islands relocation scheme who were assigned to Madrid

The Basque Country is becoming the final destination for a growing number of migrant minors who, in theory, had been assigned to the Community of Madrid under the relocation scheme for arrivals from the Canary Islands. According to information obtained by El Correo, around fifty of these young people, most of them from Gambia, have arrived in Bizkaia in recent weeks "in waves", some days up to three at a time.

The transfer comes after the inter-regional distribution protocol was activated in April in response to the migration crisis in the islands. However, what was meant to be an orderly relocation is turning into a trickle of informal reassignments: young people turning up at centres in Bizkaia with contradictory documentation.

The minor's passport business: between 200 and 300 euros
The most striking aspect of the phenomenon is not just the geographical detour, but the documentary tangle that comes with it. Many of these minors present a passport certifying they are under 18, but also carry an age determination decree issued in the Canary Islands or Algeciras. When in doubt, the protocol requires treating them as minors and applying protection measures.

According to police sources, there is a black market in genuine passports with the date of birth altered. Those interested are charged between 200 and 300 euros for a document that opens the doors of the reception system. Police suspect the alteration is done at source, in Gambia, and that the documents arrive in Spain already tampered with.

Basque benefits, the magnet drawing young migrants in
The recurring argument in the debate is that the Basque Country offers the best financial support for minors in state care. There are no official figures to confirm this, but the widespread perception is that the payments are higher than in other regions, which would explain why the young people end up in Bilbao rather than Madrid. The result is that Bizkaia's reception system is facing additional pressure that was not foreseen in the original quotas.

Underlying it all is the clash between the legal duty to protect minors and the suspicion that many of them are adults who have paid for a false identity. Until the documentary contradiction is resolved, the trickle of "waves" will keep straining Bizkaia's resources.