The government’s announcement that everyone who entered Ceuta or Melilla irregularly on 30 July 2026 will be returned to Morocco faces legal limits. Spanish law allows people to be turned back at the border, but requires returns to be suspended and individual cases assessed in specified circumstances. Blanket, immediate returns are therefore not lawful.
The relevant legislation is the Ley Orgánica 4/2000. It provides that people apprehended while crossing the border irregularly may, in principle, be turned back or returned. At the same time, safeguards apply: once an asylum application has been made, return must be suspended until a decision is reached; the same applies where there are indications that someone is a minor or where they are particularly vulnerable – for example, pregnant women with health risks. These limits arise from national law, the Ley 12/2009 on asylum, as well as requirements under EU and international law, in particular the principle of non-refoulement.
Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares reaffirmed in recent days that anyone entering Ceuta or Melilla irregularly could neither remain in Spain nor travel on to Europe. The Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores also clarified that the ongoing exceptional regularisation applies exclusively to people who were already living in Spain before 1 January 2026; those who arrived on 30 July are excluded. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska announced that swift measures would be taken, with judicial authorisation, against people arrested in connection with offences in Ceuta. He referred to Article 57.7 of Ley Orgánica 4/2000; he gave no specific figures.
The events at the end of July, when fatal incidents occurred in the maritime area, prompted the government to strengthen the state presence in Ceuta. Operationally, Madrid is pressing for rapid returns; legally, however, individual assessments remain mandatory. These include establishing identity, determining age where necessary, and carrying out health assessments, as well as access to asylum and protection procedures. The executive is therefore caught between the aim of preventing irregular entry and the duty to guarantee fundamental and human rights effectively. How many returns can in fact be carried out at short notice following individual assessment depends on procedures, capacity and judicial scrutiny.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).