Migration & Borders
Ceuta leader demands migrant detention centre
Ceuta's leader demanded on Monday that a detention centre be set up for migrants who remain in the Spanish North African territory after last month’s mass influx from Morocco.
Juan Jesus Vivas, the Popular Party leader in Ceuta, said a space acting as an internment centre for foreigners should be created urgently so migrants could be confined and expulsion proceedings handled more quickly.
Spanish government figures say about 72,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta from Morocco on July 30 and 31, and that 70,000 have since returned to Morocco. The government says around 2,500 people remain. Vivas estimated the number left in Ceuta at between 8,000 and 11,000.
Those still in the territory include hundreds of unaccompanied children who cannot be summarily deported. Migrants have struggled to access food, water, shelter and sanitation while Ceuta’s resources are overwhelmed.
The crisis has deepened a political dispute between Spain’s leftist central government and regions run by the conservative Popular Party and far-right Vox, which resist taking in unaccompanied children under existing legal provisions.
Thousands of residents of Ceuta, which has about 84,000 inhabitants, protested on Sunday over the handling of the crisis, saying the territory had been left insecure and abandoned.
Angel Victor Torres, the Spanish government minister responsible for relations with the regions, said police and troop numbers had been increased, including 40 percent more Civil Guards. He said reuniting the children with their families was the priority, without mentioning expulsions.
Aid groups had earlier warned that unaccompanied migrant children sleeping rough in Ceuta faced risks of abuse and exploitation. Save the Children called for urgent efforts to register all minors and warned that girls faced heightened risks of violence, trafficking and exploitation.
Spanish authorities have said at least 80 people died on the Spanish side of the frontier during the main rush, many while trying to swim around a barrier in the Mediterranean Sea. Morocco has said 11 people died on its side of the border.
Update
Ceuta's PP leader Juan Jesus Vivas demanded an internment centre for migrants and faster expulsion proceedings.
Vivas estimated that 8,000 to 11,000 migrants remained in Ceuta, above the Spanish government figure of around 2,500.
Thousands of Ceuta residents protested on Sunday over the handling of the crisis.
Spanish minister Angel Victor Torres said police and troop numbers had been increased, including 40 percent more Civil Guards.
Torres said reuniting unaccompanied children with their families was the priority.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 August 2026 at 14:56:59 UTC.
Update
Spanish authorities now put the Spanish-side death toll from the Ceuta migrant rush at at least 80, up from 78 in the matched story.
A Moroccan diplomatic source told MAP that Morocco was committed to identifying unaccompanied minors with a view to their return.
Ceuta-based charity Luna Blanca said it had been distributing between 3,500 and 4,000 meals a day since the influx began.
Source note: AFP news report published on 6 August 2026 at 22:02:01 UTC.
Update
Aid groups warned that unaccompanied children sleeping rough in Ceuta face risks of abuse, violence, trafficking and exploitation.
Jose Miguel Morales of Federacion Sur Acoge said some children on the streets had been beaten and assaulted.
Ceuta authorities said around 1,100 children needed attention while the territory had a theoretical capacity of 90 places.
Ceuta officials said they were setting up emergency facilities in schools and warehouses.
Luna Blanca said it had been distributing between 3,500 and 4,000 meals a day since the influx began.
Vox officials in Andalusia and Extremadura said they would oppose transfers of migrant minors from Ceuta to their regions.
Source note: AFP news report published on 6 August 2026 at 16:55:08 UTC.
Update
Spanish legal authorities raised the death toll from last week's Ceuta migrant influx to 78 after a body was recovered late Wednesday.
Morocco's interior ministry said 11 people died on the Moroccan side of the border, all but one by drowning.
Source note: AFP news report published on 5 August 2026 at 21:17:50 UTC.
Update
Juan Jesus Vivas said he contacted Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's office on July 27 to warn that hundreds of migrants had entered Ceuta and that the territory was headed for serious trouble.
Vivas said he asked Spain's interior ministry on July 28 to declare a national state of emergency but was told this was not legally possible.
The Spanish government has maintained that it received no prior warning of the scale of the incident.
Source note: AFP news report published on 5 August 2026 at 12:55:25 UTC.
Update
Ceuta's leader Juan Jesus Vivas said authorities were caring for 1,100 migrant minors despite a theoretical capacity of 90.
Vivas described the situation as unsustainable and asked Spain's central government and other regions for help.
Spain says 72,000 migrants entered Ceuta from July 30 and 70,000 have returned to Morocco, leaving about 2,500 people in the territory.
The Spanish government's top official in Ceuta said minors were still in the streets and that their care was a priority.
Spain's youth and children ministry announced 25 million euros in emergency funding for Ceuta and said two schools had been converted into reception centres.
Save the Children estimated that about 1,000 unprotected minors remained among the migrants in Ceuta.
Source note: AFP news report published on 5 August 2026 at 10:43:08 UTC.
Update
AFP saw hundreds of unaccompanied minors sleeping outdoors in a disused industrial park in Ceuta.
Migrants at the site said children lacked food, washing facilities, clothing and proper shelter.
Spanish law cited in the item requires immediate attention from child protection services when an undocumented unaccompanied migrant is suspected of being a minor.
Ceuta and central government spokespeople did not respond to calls for comment on Saturday.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 August 2026 at 17:21:10 UTC.
Update
Most businesses in central Ceuta were closed, with pharmacies and a VIPS branch among the few open businesses described.
A municipal street cleaner said fresh bread was unavailable because bakeries were closed.
Ceuta's business confederation advised shops and other commercial establishments to stay closed until security could be guaranteed.
Ceuta's regional government cancelled the city's annual patron saint festivities because of the current circumstances.
AFP reporters saw migrants stopping cars to ask for food, money or to use phones, and police directing migrants toward the border.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 14:57:15 UTC.
Update
Ceuta's regional president said at least 34 people died while trying to reach the enclave.
Madrid sent troops and more police, including divers, drones and boats, to reinforce security in Ceuta.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited Ceuta and said talks with Moroccan authorities indicated traffickers had spread an interpretation of a Spanish Supreme Court ruling.
France said it was tightening checks on its border with Spain, while several European governments criticised or reacted to the crisis.
An AFP journalist saw Moroccan security forces use tear gas and water cannon against a crowd trying to cross, and at least 30 people were arrested.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 14:49:48 UTC.
Update
Fox News quoted President Donald Trump as saying the Ceuta migrant surge was a warning for the United States if Democrats gained power.
Vice President JD Vance posted footage of migrants entering Ceuta and linked it to what he called “radical left-wing globalist policies”.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller posted video of the Ceuta crisis and accused Democrats of welcoming “invaders”.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 13:57:15 UTC.
Update
A senior EU official said the European Union saw no migrant travel onwards from Ceuta to the European mainland.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 13:54:12 UTC.
Update
Fox News reported that Donald Trump called Spain's migrant crisis 'terrible' and described it as a warning for the United States.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 13:23:11 UTC.
Update
Spain's interior minister said 25,000 people who crossed into Ceuta had voluntarily returned to Morocco.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen called the scenes in Ceuta unacceptable.
Finland and Denmark backed Italy's call for Spain to be suspended from the Schengen zone.
Spain's prime minister and interior minister travelled to Ceuta on Friday.
Moroccan security forces used tear gas and water cannon to disperse a crowd near the border, and at least 30 people were arrested, according to AFP observation.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 12:33:21 UTC.
Update
An official said 34 people died trying to cross from Morocco into Spain's Ceuta enclave.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 11:35:37 UTC.
Update
An official said around 60,000 migrants had crossed into Spain's Ceuta enclave in the recent surge.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 11:27:40 UTC.
Update
Germany's chancellor demanded that Morocco "take back illegal migrants immediately" from Spain's Ceuta.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 11:19:18 UTC.
Update
A Spanish Supreme Court ruling earlier in July said immediate returns of migrants crossing the border illegally did not apply to those arriving by sea.
Sanchez said talks with Moroccan authorities indicated trafficking mafias had spread a self-serving interpretation of that ruling.
Sanchez said that interpretation spread rapidly in recent hours.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 11:15:22 UTC.
Update
Spain's prime minister blamed the Ceuta migrant influx on criminal networks manipulating a recent court ruling.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 11:03:56 UTC.
Update
Ursula von der Leyen said the EU could not allow people to enter without following its rules.
Von der Leyen said dangerous crossings must stop immediately.
Von der Leyen said smuggling networks must be dismantled and migrant returns must be swift as EU rules allow.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 11:09:04 UTC.
Update
An EU chief called scenes of migrants entering Spain's Ceuta enclave “unacceptable”.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 10:57:07 UTC.
Update
Spain's prime minister called the Ceuta migrant crisis an “attack” and a “violation” of national territory.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 10:54:17 UTC.
Update
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his interior minister arrived in Ceuta on Friday to visit the Tarajal border.
Finland backed Italy's call to suspend Spain from the Schengen zone over the crisis.
A police source said migrants continued to arrive overnight and early Friday.
Two White House officials reiterated anti-immigration politics using video of Ceuta.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 10:22:14 UTC.
Update
Spain's interior ministry said dozens more police would be sent to Ceuta in the next hours.
The additional deployment includes eight divers, a boat and drones.
The interior ministry put arrivals in Ceuta at about 40,000 in a few days.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 09:57:38 UTC.
Update
Spain boosted its security deployment to Ceuta as the migrant crisis swelled.
The deployment includes divers.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 09:42:17 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The number of migrants remaining in Ceuta is disputed between the Spanish government figure of around 2,500 and Vivas's estimate of 8,000 to 11,000.
The source item reports Vivas's demand for a detention centre but does not say such a centre has been approved.
The timing, process and legality of any expulsions or family reunifications remain unresolved.
Source
AFP news report published on .