CANCELED - Unaccompanied Moroccan Migrant Minors in Spain

A discussion with Susan Plann, Research Professor Emerita in the Departments of Chicana/o Studies and Spanish and Portuguese, and Abdellah Laroussi, Fundación La Merced Migraciones (Madrid).

Young Moroccan teenagers on the Tangier shore. Photo: Abdellah Laroussi; cropped.

Wednesday, April 22, 2020
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Lydeen Library, Rolfe Hall West 4302
Los Angeles, CA 90095

ABSTRACT: According to Human Rights Watch, unaccompanied child migration is today the new normal; according to the Spanish press, it has now reached crisis proportions, and the great majority of unaccompanied foreign migrant minors in Spain are Moroccans. The topic of “Unaccompanied Moroccan Migrant Minors in Spain” is of importance for both European and African im/migration, and it also has significant implications for child migration to the U.S.

During the first half of the presentation Prof. Plann will provide an overview of unaccompanied Moroccan child migration to Spain, including the motives for their migration, how it is accomplished, their reception on Spanish shores, their status under Spanish law, and what happens when these children come of age. She will also point out notable differences between their situation in Spain and that of migrant minors in the U.S. Spain’s policy toward unaccompanied child migrants, which includes a path to citizenship, may seem an attractive alternative to the American model, but Prof. Plann argues that it also has its downsides.

The second half of the presentation will feature Mr. Laroussi, himself a former Moroccan child migrant who now resides in Madrid. Social worker with the foundation Merced Migraciones and prominent immigrants’ rights activist and spokesperson, Mr. Laroussi will tell his personal story and analyze the current situation of unaccompanied migrant youth in Spain, with whom he works on a daily basis.

SPEAKER BIOS:

Susan Plann is a Research Professor Emerita at UCLA in the departments of Chicana and Chicano Studies and Spanish and Portuguese and the author of Coming of Age in Madrid: An Oral History of Unaccompanied Moroccan Migrant Minors (Sussex Academic Press 2019).

Abdellah Laroussi is a social worker with Fundación La Merced Migraciones (Madrid), director of various residences for unaccompanied migrant youth, and prominent immigrant rights activist and spokesperson.

An in-house reception after the presentation will be followed by a dinner at Plateia at 7:30 (invitation required).

Prof. Plann and Mr. Laroussi will also be available to meet with interested faculty and students at a lunch on Thursday, April 23, at 1:00 at the Faculty Center (invitation required), and by appointment.

For further information contact Prof. Plann, plann@ucla.edu

Cost : Free and open to the public; pay-by-space and all-day ($13) parking available.

Sponsor(s): African Studies Center, Center for European and Russian Studies, Center for Study of International Migration, Spanish and Portuguese, UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Center for Oral History Research; Division of Humanities; Division of Social Sciences; IDEAS; Motus Sodaris; Muslim Student Association