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Bizkaia Closes 'El Vivero' Center Amid Ongoing Minor Migrant Crisis

The provincial social action representative confirms the center's closure but notes that the number of unaccompanied foreign minors exceeds the allocated quota.

Generic image conveying a sense of transition and uncertainty.
IA

Generic image conveying a sense of transition and uncertainty.

The Provincial Council of Bizkaia will close the 'El Vivero' center at the end of June, but does not consider the crisis of unaccompanied foreign minors to be over, as the territory hosts more young people than it is allocated.

The Provincial Council of Bizkaia has confirmed that the 'El Vivero' center, located in Galdakao, will close its doors at the end of June. However, Amaia Antxustegi, the provincial deputy for Social Action, stated that this closure does not signify an improvement in the situation the Biscay territory has faced in recent years regarding the arrival of foreign minors. "As of today, we are still above the number we are supposed to host according to state regulations," she stated.
State regulations stipulate that Bizkaia should have 375 places for foreign minors. Currently, the provincial resources offer 480 places spread across 18 facilities, but the number of young people under the Council's guardianship is 487. 'El Vivero' center was reopened in 2024 due to the saturation of public resources, which were overwhelmed by a massive influx, forcing the declaration of an "exceptional situation" that at times accommodated over six hundred young people.
Antxustegi acknowledged that while the "pressure" on the system for attending unaccompanied foreign minors has decreased, it "has not disappeared." Nevertheless, she explained that thanks to "reorganization and reinforcement mechanisms and processes," it has been possible to close the center, and the young people will be relocated to other services.
The deputy also referred to the decree that supports this exceptional situation, which expires in June. She affirmed that the Council respects the legal framework establishing a "temporal limit," without ruling out the possibility of maintaining the legal umbrella that supports the use of these emergency facilities. However, she called for "responsibility" from other institutions to address the challenge of minor arrivals.
Antxustegi made these statements during the control plenary session held at the Casa de Juntas de Gernika, in response to questions from councilor Urtzi Ostolozaga (EH Bildu). The deputy asserted that the emergency facility "has never been a final resource, but a transitional one," and that the minors have been integrated into "integration, training, and support pathways," which has enabled the center's closure.

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