Ángel Víctor Torres, Spain’s Minister for Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, was named coordinator of the government’s unified response to the migration crisis in Ceuta after the mass irregular entry on 30 and 31 July 2026. The reinforced coordination structure brings together state services involved in the response, reflecting the crisis’s cross-ministerial scope. The Government later linked the arrangement to its declaration of a “Situation of National Security Interest” in Ceuta.
Torres described the influx as “absolutely unpredictable” and “a tide impossible to contain,” saying officials had not expected 80,000 or 90,000 people to arrive. The government’s response has covered border and return procedures alongside accommodation. It has also included the processing and protection of unaccompanied minors, responsibilities divided between the General State Administration and Ceuta’s protection system.
By 20 October, the Government said, 12,705 people had returned from Ceuta to Morocco since 10 August. As of 21 October, 3,331 migrant minors who entered during the late-July episode had been identified and were being accommodated in the city’s protection system. Of the minors moved to mainland Spain, 107 were transferred through family reunification and 181 to other autonomous communities. Inclusion, Social Security and Migration Minister Elma Saiz said the relocations to other regions were carried out under Article 35 of Spain’s Immigration Law.
The division of responsibilities has become a point of dispute between Madrid and Ceuta. The city’s government said it would take to Spain’s Supreme Court its allegation that the General State Administration had been inactive in processing administrative files linked to the arrivals. Torres rejected that charge; the Government said the measures already underway showed there had been no inaction. Torres also criticised Ceuta’s local government, saying it had “not given any explanation about its management.”
The pressures extended beyond formal reception facilities. On 23 October, Torres said authorities were carrying out a “discreet and careful” operation in Ceuta’s Príncipe neighbourhood involving about 200 migrants staying in private properties, including homes and garages. Migrants were also staying on rooftops. He described the operation as part of the measures launched after the July influx.
Torres’s background is seen as an asset in coordinating the response. He previously led legislative changes intended to help the relocation of unaccompanied migrant minors across Spain’s autonomous communities. His experience as former president of the Canary Islands, a region familiar with migration challenges, also informs his role. The ministries involved include Interior and Defence. Inclusion, Social Security and Migration is also involved, alongside Foreign Affairs and Youth and Children.
The situation in Ceuta has prompted political debate and calls for stronger action. Earlier this month, local PSOE deputies demanded a state of alarm and a permanent Frontex presence at the border, highlighting internal tensions over Madrid’s handling of the emergency. For more on these demands and the political context, see the recent analysis of local party pressure regarding calls for emergency measures in Ceuta.
Ceuta’s position as a Spanish enclave on the North African coast makes it a recurring point of entry for migrants seeking to reach Europe. Its border with Morocco is also a sensitive issue in migration policy and diplomatic relations. The government’s coordination structure is intended to align state services on returns and accommodation, while also coordinating child protection, as the city and central government continue to dispute the pace and allocation of responsibilities.
