The situation in the autonomous city of Ceuta remains tense following the mass border crossings at the end of July 2026. Figures differ on the scale: Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said that around 72,000 people had entered Spain on 30 July, of whom about 70,000 had returned to Morocco. The Minister for Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, later spoke of up to 80,000 people having entered illegally. This figure is closer to estimates by the Ceuta city administration, which said earlier in the week that between 8,000 and 11,000 people were still in the city. All the figures cited refer to the period from 30 July to around two weeks later.
On the ground, authorities and associations report that emergency shelters and municipal services are overburdened. Neighbourhood associations describe some areas as “uninhabitable”. The central government stresses that the vast majority of those who entered had been returned within 48 hours. The discrepancies in the figures are fuelling political disputes: the People’s Party (PP) has summoned Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Defence Minister Margarita Robles and Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares to the Senate to give their account of the situation in Ceuta. Marlaska also stressed that Spain’s intelligence service, the CNI, had given no prior warning of a mass border crossing.
Legal and humanitarian issues are also in focus. According to a report by El País, the public prosecutor has not yet opened a formal investigation into alleged returns of minors. Aid organisations and local actors criticise the lack of clarity over the registration and care of particularly vulnerable people.
The government in Madrid points to increased border protection measures and close cooperation with Morocco and EU agencies such as Frontex. At the same time, media and local authorities are warning of a possible new influx around 15 August; Ceuta is reportedly making organisational preparations for further pressure. Despite individual return figures, the published totals continue to vary by source. What is clear is that the city’s public services are working at full capacity, while political institutions at regional and national level discuss how to manage the situation.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).