(AP) Slouched on a bench at a Barcelona police station, five teenagers waited patiently on a recent Friday evening to find out where they would sleep that night: a shelter for young migrants or on that bench.
Earlier that day, another group of boys had been successfully transferred to a nearby shelter, but it was uncertain if any more beds were available.
The boys from Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa had all entered southern Spain as unaccompanied minors, crossing from Morocco on what this year has become the biggest migrant route into Europe. Like thousands of other teenagers, mostly Moroccans, they made their way to Barcelona, a city known to many of them for its legendary soccer club.
Official figures show that 11,174 unaccompanied minors were registered from January until the end of September — up from 6,414 in all of 2017.
