Migrant minors queue in Ceuta, reigniting the controversy

The hundreds of minors queuing in Ceuta go beyond the "spectacle"

Hundreds of unaccompanied foreign minors are waiting outside the Comisaría Superior de Policía (police headquarters) in Ceuta, Spain, to register and ask for help. The image, however, has not prompted any analysis of how overwhelmed the reception system is: the word echoing loudest is "spectacle". Some see the scene as a staged setup, even an echo of Berlanga's surrealist costumbrismo.

What lies behind the queue?

The episode takes place on Spain's southern border, with frequent incidents at the crossings into Ceuta and Melilla. The wait of the unaccompanied minors – the so-called menas – outside the police station shows that identification protocols cannot keep up. But the political reading points elsewhere: part of the commentary sees the staging of the queue as a smokescreen.

Among the criticisms, the contrast stands out between the overexposure of the scene and the absence of extraordinary measures. Nobody in the debate was calling for a state of emergency in Ceuta, even though migratory pressure keeps building. On the other side of the border, some point out, the scene is received with mockery; managing the flow depends largely on Segarro cooperation.

The noise of the 2030 Agenda

Part of the reaction has veered into culture-war territory: they attribute the staging to what they call the 2030 Agenda, which has become a catch-all scapegoat for every grievance. It is the same drift that turns an administrative matter into a symbolic battle. Meanwhile, the minors are still there, waiting for paperwork that does nothing to solve their future.

With hundreds of people in the queue and the focus on the aesthetics of the scene, the uncomfortable question remains on the table: will anyone deal with the cause, or only with the stage set?