Spain’s political divide over migration has sharpened in Ceuta, where Partido Popular national leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo and the city’s president, Juan Jesús Vivas, have demanded the immediate expulsion of all migrants who arrived during the late-July border surge, including minors. Their position directly challenges the central government, which is preparing to transfer 500 especially vulnerable girls from Ceuta to the mainland and rejects mass deportation as illegal.
Successive figures from the Ceuta government show the scale of the emergency. At the beginning of July, before arrivals on 30 and 31 July, the city was caring for 180 minors, while its ordinary protection capacity was 29 places. On 17 October, the government reported 3,086 minors in its care, about 106 times that capacity, and said it had opened up to 11 additional facilities since 1 August. By 22 October, the reported total had risen to 3,390, or 117 times ordinary capacity. The government had authorized up to 12 new extraordinary resources. Seven had already opened, alongside three structural facilities. EFE reported the figures provided by the Ceuta executive.
The Ministry of Infancia, led by Sira Rego, has been working to relocate the girls, many of them below their teens. Others have no family or come from violent backgrounds. They would go to private care facilities funded by the state. The government argues that Spanish law strictly prohibits the collective deportation of minors, citing recent court rulings that imposed lengthy disqualifications on officials involved in similar actions during the 2021 crisis.
Feijóo and Vivas, but, insist that everyone who arrived during what they call an “invasion” must be returned to Morocco, regardless of age. Neither gave details when asked about the legal mechanism for such expulsions. Vivas suggested that Moroccan social services should take responsibility, arguing that if Morocco can co-host major events with Spain, it should also manage its minors. Feijóo questioned how many minors Spain could realistically absorb and warned against setting a precedent. In media remarks, Vivas contrasted the 180 minors in Ceuta before the late-July arrivals with roughly 3,300 afterward, saying existing instruments were inadequate to meet the scale of the emergency.
The government maintains that even under recent EU legislative changes, the child’s best interests remain paramount and Spanish law is unequivocal. The Fiscalía de Menores has reiterated the need to help care and individual assessments for each minor. On 23 October, reports said 3,331 minors were housed under Ceuta’s guardianship across 20 centres, with 8.6% having undergone the relevant assessment. The same figures put the number transferred to mainland Spain at 288. None of the 63 repatriation requests sent to Morocco had been accepted. Overcrowding remains critical: the reported caseload is more than 100 times the city’s ordinary capacity, and many children have been left on the streets.
The central government’s distribution mechanism has been described as operating under Article 35 of Spain’s amended immigration law and the structure associated with Royal Decree-Law 2/2025. An earlier tally reported that 262 minors had left Ceuta for mainland Spain: 89 through family reunification and 173 through transfers to other autonomous communities. These are separate routes: reunification with relatives already in Spain and institutional redistribution between regions. The later figure of 288 transfers reflects a subsequent reporting date. El Español reported both sets of figures as part of the mainland transfer mechanism’s implementation.
To ease the pressure, the Ministry of Infancia has sent its secretary of state to Ceuta and is negotiating with local authorities to allow the transfer of the 500 girls. The city holds legal guardianship, making its cooperation impressive. The government is offering financial support, but the PP’s hardline position has cast doubt on whether the plan can proceed. There is concern that the PP could block a €25 million emergency fund for the transfers at an upcoming interterritorial meeting.
The dispute also carries the legacy of the May 2021 Ceuta border crisis, when more than 10,000 people entered the city from Morocco. La Vanguardia reported that more than 600 requests were made during that episode to reunite minors with family members in Morocco, but Moroccan authorities did not respond to any of them. That history frames the current debate over returns and family reunification. The same reporting described Vivas as supporting distribution among Spain’s autonomous communities before 30 July, then opposing the transfer to mainland facilities of about 500 especially vulnerable girls from 1 August.
As the standoff intensifies, the government accuses Feijóo and Vivas of knowingly advocating an illegal course of action. Sira Rego has publicly condemned the PP’s approach, saying deporting children is both unlawful and inhumane, and likening its rhetoric to Vox’s. She reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to upholding human rights and protecting vulnerable minors.
This latest confrontation follows weeks of mounting tension in Ceuta, where local leaders have repeatedly demanded urgent action from Madrid. The situation escalated after the city’s president threatened legal measures if the government failed to respond, as detailed in recent coverage of Ceuta’s ultimatum to the central authorities.
Despite the political rhetoric, the government points out that nearly 2,000 minors were transferred from Spain’s enclaves to the mainland last year, arguing that practical cooperation is possible amid political disputes. The fate of the 500 girls now depends on whether Ceuta’s authorities will allow their transfer or continue demanding mass returns to Morocco.
Ceuta’s position as a Spanish enclave bordering Morocco has made it a focal point for irregular migration into Europe. The city, with roughly 85,000 residents, has had to expand a protection system designed for 29 minors into a network of temporary facilities and structural resources, including sites opened under extraordinary measures. The network includes La Esperanza. Centro Mediterráneo and Centro Punta Blanca are also among its facilities. The city’s limited resources and legal responsibilities for unaccompanied minors have repeatedly triggered disputes between local and national authorities. Spanish law, in line with international conventions, requires individual assessments and prohibits the collective expulsion of children. The current crisis highlights the ongoing challenge of balancing humanitarian obligations with political pressures as Spain approaches another election cycle.
