The Government challenges the transfer of an unaccompanied minor from the Canary Islands to the Balearic Islands

PalmThe Balearic Islands Bar Association will file an administrative appeal with a court in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria against the resolution ordering the transfer and relocation of an unaccompanied foreign minor in the Balearic Islands. This was approved by the Governing Council this Friday, as reported by the government spokesperson, Antoni Costa, at the subsequent press conference.

This concerns the third proposal to transfer an unaccompanied minor in the Balearic Islands The lawyers have filed an appeal. So far, the spokesperson said, none of the three minors have arrived.

The appeal has been filed against the resolution of December 4, 2025, issued by the Government Delegate in the Canary Islands, which orders the transfer and relocation of an unaccompanied foreign minor in the Islands. This resolution stipulates that the regional government's child protection services assume guardianship and custody, pursuant to Royal Decree-Law 2/2025 of March 18 and Royal Decree 658/2025 of July 22, concerning the management of extraordinary migration contingency situations.

It should be noted that the Legal Service of the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands The regional government has challenged both regulations, with the authorization of the Governing Council. According to the legal department, the Government Delegate's resolution "does not adequately justify" the dismissal of the allegations presented by the autonomous community during the hearing period. In this regard, a "violation" of the established procedure for the transfer and relocation of minors is noted, especially due to the lack of prior agreement from the corresponding sectoral conference.

Furthermore, they emphasize that the resolution "does not take into account" the employment level of specialized care centers for unaccompanied foreign minors in the Balearic Islands, nor the migration emergency that the regional government has repeatedly stated the autonomous community is experiencing. The protection system serves a total of 745 minors.

Sources within the Executive Branch have indicated that the Balearic Islands' child protection and guardianship system is currently caring for 745 unaccompanied foreign minors, a figure "significantly higher" than its assigned capacity. In this context, the Government has also highlighted the "deficiencies" of the Royal Decree that establishes the standard capacity of each autonomous community's protection system and assigns the Balearic Islands a capacity of 406 minors. According to the State Attorney's Office, this allocation is based on "insufficiently justified" criteria, with an "opaque and arbitrary" application that "creates territorial imbalances and violates the constitutional principle of interterritorial solidarity." State funds for the Islands

In parallel, the Governing Council has authorized the distribution among the four island councils of state funds earmarked for financing the care of unaccompanied migrant children. The distribution will be based on an agreement signed between the Government and each council. The funds stem from transfers of €100 million from the Ministry of Youth and Children to all autonomous communities to cover the costs incurred due to overcrowding and the fostering of minors, which included €4.6 million for the Balearic Islands. To this amount are added the €35 million distributed to the Canary Islands, Ceuta, Melilla, and the Balearic Islands, territories that the Ministry acknowledges are "affected by greater migratory pressure than other territories of the Spanish State due to being a preferred point of entry for migration routes to Europe." According to this criterion, the Balearic Islands receive 3.2 million euros, bringing the total for the community to 7.8 million euros, which will be distributed among the councils taking into account the intake and overcrowding of their respective child care services.