Ceuta’s government is racing to adapt two large industrial buildings for 862 migrant minors after a sudden influx overwhelmed the city’s existing resources. Officials warn that the number of unaccompanied minors could soon approach 1,000, far beyond the city’s ordinary reference capacity of 29 places. The local administration is seeking additional financial support from the central government to manage the escalating emergency.
Minors are currently housed in every available city facility, where conditions are cramped. Alberto Gaitán, Ceuta’s Councillor for the Presidency and head of the Minors area, said the new spaces should be ready within hours or days. Until then, many children remain in temporary or makeshift accommodation. Some initially slept outside the newly prepared warehouse near the El Tarajal border. Authorities acknowledge that some minors are still unaccounted for on the streets, and are working to locate them and bring them into care.
Transfers of minors to mainland Spain had not taken place in recent days because of administrative requirements, but the city planned to request further relocations under Royal Decree-Law 2/2025. The measure amended Article 35 of Spain’s Organic Law 4/2000 on the Rights and Freedoms of Foreigners, establishing an exceptional redistribution mechanism for unaccompanied minors in territories facing extraordinary pressure. Over the previous year, Ceuta had transferred 655 minors to the peninsula, but arrivals outpaced those efforts. Gaitán said the number in care had climbed from 200 in July to 862, stretching city services as they provide essentials such as food and shelter, along with clothing.
The youngest children, whose age is not in doubt, have been prioritized for better accommodation, while older minors are being placed in provisional settings. Some children temporarily stay with relatives or acquaintances before seeking help from city services, making it difficult to determine exactly how many need support. The city continues to search neighborhoods for those still outside the system and offer assistance.
One of the basic facilities being adapted is a large industrial warehouse in the El Tarajal industrial zone, a site used during earlier waves of arrivals. Ceuta’s government has repeatedly stressed that it cannot handle numbers like these alone and has called for urgent intervention from Madrid. The city’s ordinary capacity of 29 places puts the pressure into sharp relief: at 862 minors, the caseload was almost 30 times that benchmark.
The crisis intensified after mass arrivals on 30 and 31 July 2026. Government figures reported by EFE put the number of minors in Ceuta’s care at 180 at the beginning of July and 3,086 by 17 October, about 106 times the city’s standard capacity. Earlier transfers to mainland centres had temporarily reduced the local caseload, but the late-July arrivals reversed that progress. From 1 August, the administration opened as many as 11 additional reception resources.
By 23 October, Spanish minister Ángel Víctor Torres reported that 3,434 minors were registered and receiving protection in Ceuta. Of those, 114 were staying with families in mainland Spain and 181 had been transferred to other autonomous communities under Article 35. Torres also said nearly 8,000 reception places had been activated across the city, with about 6,000 occupied. A separate count reported that Ceuta had expanded to 12 extraordinary resources and 22 operating spaces as the child-protection caseload continued to grow.
The redistribution mechanism is intended to require other autonomous communities to receive minors from areas formally declared to be facing a migratory emergency. Ceuta’s president, Juan Vivas, has argued that Royal Decree-Law 2/2025 “does not constitute a sufficient response to Ceuta’s specific needs.” In a separate proposal, Gaitán called for faster proceedings to repatriate minors to Morocco, with additional staff and resources. Repatriation proceedings are distinct from transfers to mainland Spain or other autonomous communities.
This latest surge follows mounting pressure on Ceuta’s infrastructure, which has already struggled to cope with previous waves of arrivals. Humanitarian and logistical challenges have grown alongside the need to ensure safe, dignified conditions for minors, many of whom arrive after dangerous journeys. The situation has also strained local services. Recent reports have described the impact on Ceuta’s temporary morgue and the difficulties of managing the aftermath of mass crossings at the border. For further context on the ongoing crisis and its effects on local facilities, see the detailed coverage of the strain on Ceuta’s provisional morgue in this recent report.
Ceuta’s experience reflects a wider challenge for Spanish border regions, where sudden increases in arrivals can quickly overwhelm systems designed for much smaller numbers. The city’s call for additional resources and legislative flexibility highlights the need for coordinated responses at regional and national levels. As the situation develops, the focus remains on providing immediate care for vulnerable minors while pursuing longer-term solutions to ease the humanitarian strain.
