The Spanish government is stepping back from blanket pledges of swift returns to Morocco and stresses the need for legally sound individual assessments. Following public announcements in early August that the aim was to return irregular arrivals “down to the last person”, Foreign Ministry and Ministry of the Interior have since explained that every step must be taken “within the limits of the law”. A key political and legal reference point is a 2025 ruling that found the return of minors without individual assessment to be unlawful.
The Audiencia Provincial de Cádiz convicted the then Government Delegate in Ceuta, Salvadora Mateos, and the city government’s former vice-president, Mabel Deu, on 11 September 2025, sentencing each to nine years of disqualification from public office for administrative abuse of authority. The court found that, in August 2021, the return to Morocco of 55 minors had been ordered without the required hearing, without the involvement of the public prosecutor and without assessing family ties or suitable reception conditions. The ruling has since served as a key guideline for future proceedings.
The situation of the minors who remain in the city following the Ceuta crisis is currently particularly sensitive. According to media reports, there are around 1,500 of them. Lawyers and human rights organisations point out that European and Spanish law require the best interests of the child, their identity, possible family ties and reliable care arrangements in the receiving state to be established before any transfer. Blanket or mass measures would be open to legal challenge and could have criminal or disciplinary consequences.
Political pressure is mounting from several sides. Opposition representatives are calling for the swift return of all those affected to Morocco, citing, among other things, its designation as a safe country of origin and transit in European documents. The governing majority, by contrast, points to binding procedural standards and says that any transfers will be carried out individually and documented. No specific timetable for a general approach covering everyone affected has been issued.
The latest clarification of the position by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior reflects an attempt to reconcile security policy objectives with the rule of law. The ruling by the Audiencia Provincial de Cádiz sets the benchmark: returns are not permitted without individual assessment, the involvement of the competent authorities and robust guarantees for minors. For the authorities in Ceuta, this means a complex procedure, closer coordination with Morocco and clear documentation of every individual step.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).