In Ceuta’s El Príncipe neighborhood, a sudden downpour has left around 400 women and children, many of them minors, sleeping on soaked mattresses in a makeshift migrant camp. The rain collapsed tents and rendered the basic shelter unusable, laying bare the precarious conditions facing some of the city’s most vulnerable new arrivals. Volunteers and local residents, who have supported these families since the mass entry at the end of July, warn that the situation is unsustainable and accuse authorities of neglect. The arrivals on 30-31 July 2026 led to improvised settlements at or near Benítez and El Trampolín beaches, as well as in other peripheral areas. After the camps were dismantled, some people moved into El Príncipe.
Many women and girls have gone without access to showers for a week, people on the ground say. The shift from heat and humidity to cold, wet conditions has worsened health problems, with several minors reportedly ill and without proper medical attention. Meri Am Samadi said her 15-year-old daughter, Walae Hadouch, has a fever and throat pain despite a hospital visit and basic medication. Volunteers such as Hafida Musfata Tami, easily recognized by her yellow vest, move quickly through the camp, organizing help and trying to lift spirits as girls chant for shelter and rights in dariya, the Moroccan Arabic dialect.
Residents and volunteers are growing frustrated. They point out that while 1,400 men were quickly relocated from El Trampolín beach, women and children remain in limbo. Some minors have been registered by city staff but are still waiting to be transferred. Ahmed Enfed-Dal, president of the local neighborhood association, says efforts to move the group to a prepared warehouse have stalled because nearby residents oppose the plan. For now, the camp remains the only option, with various associations providing minimal sanitation and food. Volunteers are also trying to protect the women and girls amid continuing security concerns.
Elsewhere in Ceuta, the government has set up a large parking area in Loma Colmenar to house migrants, but local residents remain uneasy. Lubna, who lives opposite the site, describes a tense atmosphere and ongoing concerns about safety and noise, including reports of unaccompanied minors sleeping outdoors. Police tightly control the slow admission process, allowing only small groups into the new facility at a time. The influx continues, fueled by word of mouth among migrants, and pressure on local infrastructure shows no sign of easing.
The strain extended beyond the beach encampments. In October, Spain’s Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, said Ceuta had activated nearly 8,000 reception places, with about 6,000 occupied. Authorities had carried out more than 5,400 triages of adults and 310 of minors, while 3,434 unaccompanied minors were registered in the city’s protection system. Torres described responsibility for unaccompanied children as “the grave problem of Ceuta in the medium term.”
Meanwhile, city authorities have focused on clearing the area around the Centro de Estancia Temporal de Inmigrantes and El Trampolín beach, where more than a thousand mostly Maghrebi migrants had gathered temporarily so municipal cleaning crews could restore the site. The previous day’s efforts were disrupted when hundreds more migrants arrived, complicating the operation. Mina Mohamed Laarbi, the city’s deputy environment minister, directed workers to finish quickly so the area could reopen. She emphasized the need to balance the humanitarian response with public order. On 18 October, more than 500 people were removed from several peripheral locations, including Los Rosales and the Poblado de Regulares, as well as warehouses at El Tarajal and lower El Príncipe. Minors among them were referred to Ceuta’s child-protection services.
The subsequent police operations exposed the precarious accommodation some people found after the informal settlements were dismantled. On 22 October, police found 74 migrants inside a property in El Príncipe. The group comprised 54 men and 10 women, alongside 10 unaccompanied minors. Police also arrested a man suspected of leading a group involved in exploiting migrants and illegally transferring people. The following day, the Policía Nacional and Guardia Civil removed about 200 people from garages, rooftops and homes in the neighborhood. Adults found in such sweeps were initially taken to the Centro de Atención Temporal de Extranjeros (CATE), with possible onward transfer to the Loma Colmenar facility or entry into a voluntary-return procedure. Minors were referred to Ceuta’s protection authorities.
Transfer and family-reunification routes have eased some of the pressure, but the city continues to care for the large majority of the minors registered in its system. Figures reported in October included 114 minors who had reached mainland Spain after reuniting with relatives and 181 relocated to other autonomous communities. A further 63 family-reunification files had been referred to Morocco. Settlement clearances, referrals into child protection and continued reliance on local reception capacity have kept the humanitarian response at the center of the city’s migration challenge.
The crisis in Ceuta reflects the ongoing challenges of managing sudden surges in migration, especially when vulnerable groups are involved. It echoes previous emergencies in the city, including the urgent transfer of hundreds of migrant girls to mainland Spain, as reported in recent coverage of government relocation efforts. With local resources stretched and tensions rising, authorities and residents face difficult choices about how to ensure safety and dignity for everyone affected.
Ceuta’s position as a Spanish enclave on the North African coast makes it a frequent entry point for migrants from Morocco and other countries. The city’s limited capacity to absorb large numbers of arrivals has led to repeated humanitarian and logistical crises. Spanish law requires special protection for minors and vulnerable individuals, but implementation often lags behind needs on the ground. The current emergency highlights the need for coordinated action across government, alongside the work of volunteers and civil society in filling gaps in the official response.
