Spain’s top court says the government broke the law when it sent child migrants back to Morocco

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s Supreme Court has ruled that Spanish authorities acted illegally when they sent unaccompanied child migrants back to Morocco in 2021. Hundreds of unaccompanied minors were among a surge of around 10,000 people who tried to enter Ceuta by scaling a border fence or swimming around the Spanish enclave in North Africa. Spain is legally obliged to care for young migrants until their relatives can be located or until they turn 18. But officials said a 2007 agreement between Spain and Morocco for assisted returns once children’s cases had been considered. The Supreme Court judges  on Monday rejected arguments that the 2007 agreement superseded Spanish law and said the mass return contravened the European Convention on Human Rights.