Firstly, the Government Delegation in Madrid would like to make it clear that, at this time, it has not received through official channels the additional information that the Government of the Community of Madrid has publicly announced that it was going to send in relation to these dossiers.
There is no blockade or inaction on the part of the Government of Spain. This is an irresponsible and politically interested statement, with which the Government of the Community of Madrid intends to conceal its own responsibilities with minors under its guardianship.
The Government Delegation reiterates that, since the receipt of the requests made by the Community of Madrid, this Delegation has been carrying out the actions provided for in the current regulations, in accordance with Organic Law 4/2000 and Royal Decree 1155/2024, which regulates the procedure applicable to these cases. There is no blockade, there is compliance with the law and defense of the best interests of the child.
The expulsion of an unaccompanied foreign minor cannot be agreed automatically and immediately as the Government of the Community of Madrid intends to do. The legislation requires individualized processing, always with guarantees and based on the best interests of the child. The decisions taken must be based on mandatory reports that make it possible to properly assess the personal, family and social situation of each child, as well as the real conditions of return.
In this regard, the Government Delegation has already informed the Government of the Community of Madrid that it has initiated the relevant procedures and has requested, through the General Commissariat for Foreigners and Borders, the reports of the diplomatic representations of the countries of origin of the minors. Without such reports, a decision cannot be made with the guarantees required by law.
Therefore, it is profoundly serious to present as an alleged “inaction” what, in reality, is strict compliance with the legal guarantees that protect minors. The Government Delegation will not make the protection of children an instrument of institutional confrontation, as the Government of the Community of Madrid intends.
The Government Delegation also recalls that the Government of the Community of Madrid is the competent administration for the protection and guardianship of minors in its custody. It is necessary, therefore, to exercise fully its responsibilities of attention and integration, with humanity and common sense.
The Government Delegation in Madrid will continue to act with absolute institutional loyalty, legal rigour and full respect for the best interests of the child, which, we recall, must always prevail over any partisan strategy or judicial threat of the Government of the Community of Madrid. They are children and adolescents under protection and any decision affecting them will be made with guarantees and respect for the law.