Migration & Borders
Ceuta migrant surge: Spain says Schengen not at risk
Spain said the July 30 migrant rush into Ceuta, which authorities say killed 75 people, did not compromise Europe's Schengen free-travel area.
Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said on Tuesday that Spain had returned 70,000 of the 72,000 migrants who reached the North African territory to Morocco. The arrival figure was higher than an earlier estimate of about 50,000.
The Spanish government's delegation in Ceuta said the death toll from the mass rush had risen to 75 from a previous toll of 72. Many migrants drowned while trying to swim around a barrier in the Mediterranean Sea.
“It is clear that in no way was the Schengen area compromised in this crisis,” Grande-Marlaska told reporters in Madrid after emergency talks with EU counterparts. He said there had been “no possibility of any secondary movement” from Ceuta to continental Europe.
Border passport checks are in force between Ceuta and mainland Spain. The influx had prompted Italy and Denmark to call for Spain to be suspended from Schengen.
Grande-Marlaska said Tuesday's meeting with EU counterparts took place in “an absolutely constructive tone”.
Save the Children said around 1,000 “unprotected” minors were among the migrants who remain in Ceuta. Spain announced 25 million euros, or $29 million, to help Ceuta authorities provide emergency care for unaccompanied minors.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's Socialist government has defended a more open approach to irregular immigration than some European peers. This year it launched a scheme to grant legal status to irregular migrants already living in Spain, which is expected to benefit around 500,000 people, mostly Latin Americans.
Update
The Spanish government's delegation in Ceuta said the death toll from the July 30 migrant rush rose to 75 from 72.
Save the Children said around 1,000 “unprotected” minors remained among the migrants in Ceuta.
Spain announced 25 million euros to help Ceuta authorities provide emergency care for unaccompanied minors.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 13:49:17 UTC.
Update
Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said the Ceuta influx did not compromise the Schengen area.
Grande-Marlaska said Spain had returned 70,000 of 72,000 migrants who reached Ceuta to Morocco.
The Spanish government put the death toll from the July 30 crossings at 72.
Grande-Marlaska said there was no possibility of secondary movement from Ceuta to continental Europe because border checks are in force between Ceuta and mainland Spain.
Grande-Marlaska said the EU talks took place in an absolutely constructive tone.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 12:47:10 UTC.
Update
A French minister said EU ministers agreed that Schengen was “not the problem” after the Ceuta incident.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 12:00:05 UTC.
Update
A Danish minister said Denmark was “very satisfied” with Spain's response to the Ceuta incident.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 12:07:28 UTC.
Update
A Spanish minister said the tone in EU talks on the migrant influx was constructive.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 11:59:09 UTC.
Update
EU interior ministers held more than three hours of video talks and issued a statement expressing solidarity with Spain.
The EU statement said crisis communication could be reinforced and made more coherent.
Spain said 72,000 people entered Ceuta from Morocco and 70,000 had returned.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi renewed calls for return centres and suggested using trade measures to pressure Morocco on repatriations.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 11:58:16 UTC.
Update
EU interior ministers began the videoconference on Tuesday at 10:00 am, according to the latest account.
The latest account puts the Ceuta arrivals at an estimated 50,000 and says Spain estimated 2,500 remained as of Monday.
Italy was expected to renew its push for EU return hubs in African countries.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Ceuta posed a risk to the EU and defended Italy's border position.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 09:58:10 UTC.
Update
EU interior ministers were due to hold a Tuesday videoconference on the Ceuta crisis.
Italy and Denmark advocated suspending Spain from the Schengen free-travel area, which Madrid rejected and the item says is legally impossible under EU rules.
Pedro Sanchez and 22 EU countries sent competing letters calling for urgent talks with different aims.
Ursula von der Leyen urged action on partner-state cooperation, external borders, early warning systems, smuggling networks and returns.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 05:14:48 UTC.
Update
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is facing political pressure over the Ceuta migrant crisis after earlier criticism over wildfires near Madrid.
EU ministers are due to hold an emergency meeting on August 4 over the migrant influx into Ceuta.
Donald Trump's US administration accused Madrid of enabling irregular migration.
Almost all of the roughly 50,000 migrants cited as entering Ceuta irregularly last week have since returned to Morocco.
Political scientists said the migrant crisis was more damaging for Sanchez than the wildfire response.
Source note: AFP news report published on 3 August 2026 at 17:29:19 UTC.
Update
Morocco's interior ministry said there had been 40,000 attempts to cross illegally into Ceuta.
The ministry said 1,135 people tried to enter Melilla and were immediately returned to Moroccan territory.
Morocco said it was working with Spain to check death toll figures and identify bodies found on Spanish territory.
Morocco's interior ministry blamed the surge on what it called malicious exploitation of social media, misleading information and misinterpretations of legal provisions.
Morocco's interior ministry said prosecutors had opened an official investigation into what happened.
The Moroccan Association for Human Rights said there were nearly 130 victims and dozens more missing.
Source note: AFP news report published on 2 August 2026 at 21:45:51 UTC.
Update
Morocco's interior ministry said 11 people died trying to reach Ceuta, including 10 who drowned and one who fell from a rocky area.
Source note: AFP news report published on 2 August 2026 at 20:48:04 UTC.
Update
Pope Leo XIV said he was following the situation in Ceuta with concern and hoped for a solution of peace, stability and justice.
The current account says Spanish police and troops were patrolling as Ceuta largely returned to normal, with only small groups of migrants still walking around.
Source note: AFP news report published on 2 August 2026 at 11:26:15 UTC.
Update
Ceuta government delegate Miguel Angel Perez Triano said the latest fatality figure was 72, up from the previous toll of 67.
Spanish police and troops were patrolling Ceuta on Sunday as the enclave returned to normal.
Only small groups of migrants were still walking around after most people who crossed returned voluntarily to Morocco within 48 hours.
AFP observed Spanish soldiers detaining nine migrants near Ceuta port and Civil Guard officers escorting migrants back toward the border post.
A new 500-metre floating boom had reinforced security near the border barrier extending into the Mediterranean Sea.
The EU planned a Tuesday video call after 22 bloc members called for an urgent coordinated response.
Source note: AFP news report published on 2 August 2026 at 10:23:55 UTC.
Update
Spain's interior minister said almost all migrants who entered Ceuta had left by late Saturday morning.
Spanish officials said irregular entry into Ceuta does not allow travel to mainland Europe or free movement in Europe.
Italy announced a suspension of Schengen rules with Spain, while France and Portugal increased border controls and EU interior ministers were due to meet Tuesday.
AFP cited analysts and officials discussing possible reasons for the timing, while saying the cause remained unclear.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 August 2026 at 17:20:46 UTC.
Update
The Moroccan Association of Human Rights called for an independent inquiry into the causes and circumstances of the Ceuta migrant influx.
The group condemned what it called the silence of Moroccan officials and institutions over the crisis.
The group said it held the Moroccan state fully responsible for the influx.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 August 2026 at 15:38:16 UTC.
Update
Spain's interior minister said the situation had been almost entirely reversed, with almost all migrants having left Ceuta.
The EU said it would hold a video meeting on Tuesday after 22 member states called for urgent interior minister talks.
Spain's interior ministry said a 500-metre pneumatic barrier had been installed near the border post.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez criticised the reaction by some EU countries as selfish.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 August 2026 at 15:38:55 UTC.
Update
Migrants continued crossing back from Ceuta into Morocco in small groups on Saturday, with Spanish soldiers and Civil Guard officers directing people toward the border exit.
Some migrants were barefoot, wrapped in Red Cross blankets or visibly exhausted after days in Ceuta with little food.
A few people were still trying to swim into Ceuta on Saturday; one weakened man was treated by Red Cross rescuers and taken away on a stretcher.
Ceuta's shops, cafes and traffic had largely resumed after the town had shut down during the surge.
The Spanish interior ministry put the number of arrivals at 50,000, while Ceuta regional president Juan Jesus Vivas estimated about 60,000.
Residents and migrants gave differing accounts of whether the situation had returned to normal.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 August 2026 at 13:49:33 UTC.
Update
Spanish officials said almost all migrants who entered Ceuta had left by Saturday.
Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said at least 67 people died while trying to enter Ceuta.
Ceuta regional president Juan Jesus Vivas estimated that 60,000 migrants entered the enclave over several days from Morocco.
Twenty-two EU countries called for an urgent video meeting of interior ministers on a coordinated response.
Italy suspended Schengen visa-free movement with Spain for one month.
Spain installed a 500-metre pneumatic barrier near the border post.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 August 2026 at 12:08:05 UTC.
Update
The US State Department specifically tied its criticism to a migrant surge in Ceuta.
The department said the incident was the direct result of what it called Spain's deliberate efforts to enable and facilitate mass illegal migration into Europe.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 15:26:25 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The detailed circumstances of all 75 deaths are not specified.
Source
AFP news report published on .