On 20 October 2026, the Spanish government gave a detailed account of its measures in Ceuta and confirmed the return of more than 12,700 people to Morocco since 10 August. The account forms part of a written response to the city of Ceuta and relates to the tense situation at the border since the end of July. The authority responsible for operations in Ceuta, which provided the report, was the Autoridad Funcional, which rejected an earlier request from the autonomous city and summarised the state operations.
According to the government, additional facilities were created at short notice, overseen by the Central Administration supervised Reception centres were created, security forces coordinated and procedures for triage, evacuations and administrative processes reorganised. The aim, it said, was to register people after border crossings secure accommodation and speed up return procedures. The government stresses that the vast majority of adults were housed in state-provided facilities, which made the returns possible. The figure of more than 12,700 returns relates to the period from 10 August to 20 October 2026.
Madrid cites as its legal framework the Real Decreto-ley 22/2026issued on 1 September 2026. The emergency decree provides financial aid and organisational arrangements to support Ceuta, establishes the coordinating role of the Autoridad Funcional and defines the Central Administration’s responsibilities for reception centres, security operations and administrative procedures. The government says this structure made it possible to pool resources in Ceuta.
The city of Ceuta considers the response inadequate. It criticises the lack of detailed information on individual procedures, deadlines and the status of ongoing files, and announced on 20 October 2026 that it would bring a claim against the Central Administration before the Tribunal Supremo This continues a conflict between local and central government, with both administrative and political dimensions.
Confirmed facts should be distinguished from claims: the establishment of additional accommodation, the coordination of security forces, the administrative procedures described and the stated total number of returns during the specified period are confirmed. It remains disputed whether the information provided and the speed of processing meet the city’s requirements, and whether constitutional and administrative standards on transparency and the allocation of responsibilities have been observed. These questions are now likely to be resolved through court proceedings and political dialogue between La Moncloa and Ceuta.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).