Residents in Ceuta have set up neighborhood patrols and makeshift barriers to keep migrants out of certain districts. Round-the-clock watches have been reported in Postigo and Los Rosales, with patrols also reported in Benítez. Tensions escalated after thousands of migrants crossed into the city on 30 and 31 July 2026. Spain’s central government cited about 72,000 entries, while a later report by the Government of Ceuta put the cumulative administrative estimate at 96,058. That figure was not a verified count of unique people and could include duplicate records. Official estimates suggest that between 2,000 and 6,000 remain in Ceuta, although most have already left.
Confrontations have also been reported. In one incident, Sandra López, secretary of Institutional Policy for the PSOE in Ceuta, encountered a group of migrants seeking directions to Benzú while walking her dog near the shooting range. One of them, Adil, refused to pass through Postigo and showed López injuries he said locals in the area had inflicted. López documented the wounds, but Adil declined to report the assault, fearing detention and expulsion. The group took a longer route to avoid further conflict.
At the entrance to Postigo, López saw several vehicles blocking the road and residents standing guard, some visibly carrying objects such as baseball bats. Residents in other neighborhoods have also alleged home entries and theft, as well as disturbances. The patrols have extended beyond residents’ own streets. EL PAÍS reports that participants coordinate through WhatsApp* (принадлежит Metа, которая признана экстремистской организацией и запрещена в РФ) groups, sharing photos and videos of migrants hiding in remote areas and organizing night searches to find and expel them.
Messages exchanged in these groups show efforts to evade police detection and legal consequences. Participants advise one another not to record their actions and to hide identifying features such as tattoos. Some messages say military patrols are restricted from intervening, prompting civilians to take matters into their own hands. When police are alerted to masked, armed civilians, the operations are quickly disbanded to avoid sanctions. No arrests have been reported so far.
The patrols are unfolding as the government continues to respond to the July arrivals. On 20 October, the Spanish Government said that more than 12,700 people had returned to Morocco from Ceuta since 10 August. Its accounting cited 12,705 returns: 12,142 were voluntary and 536 were expulsions. Separately, it reported 3,331 registered minors. The government also said most adults still in the city had been placed in facilities provided by the General State Administration. By 23 October, a government-linked report put the number of returns since 10 August at 13,101.
The political response has been mixed. Vox has publicly defended Ceuta residents’ right to self-defense. Its spokesperson for Security and Immigration, Samuel Vázquez, said people have the right to protect their families by any means necessary. But, police and local demonstrators have rebuffed attempts by far-right groups and activists from outside Ceuta to join the patrols. More than 40% of the city’s population is Muslim, and most residents reject violence as a solution to tensions.
The situation also has a humanitarian dimension beyond the returns. By late October, Ángel Víctor Torres, a Spanish government minister, said work was continuing on the ground, including an operation involving about 200 migrants in the Príncipe neighborhood. A government-linked report said more than 244,000 meals had been distributed since 3 August. Government figures cited in international reporting put the number of people still in Ceuta from sub-Saharan African countries at more than 1,000. The same reporting said nationals of those countries receive asylum in Spain in more than 90% of cases. The groups remaining in the city so include people with different circumstances and protection needs.
Migration totals have also been reported using different counting frameworks. Frontex data for the first nine months of 2026 recorded 18,260 detected crossings into Spain on the Western Mediterranean route, up 26%, but did not include the mass Ceuta arrivals in that series. The Interior Ministry’s regular immigration statistics had not incorporated the July figures, which had undergone “triaje,” or sorting. These distinctions explain why estimates of the initial influx and routine route detections cannot be compared directly with the count of people still in Ceuta.
For more context on the challenges Ceuta has faced during recent migrant surges and the response of Spanish authorities, see this analysis of border security and official investigations: how Spain’s National Court addressed the influx at Ceuta’s border.
Ceuta’s demographic mix and geographic position at Europe’s edge have made it a focal point for migration debates and security concerns. The remaining migrants face precarious conditions and often avoid both police and hostile patrols. Authorities continue to monitor the situation to prevent further escalation and maintain public order.
