Ceuta’s president, Juan Jesús Vivas, has stepped up calls for urgent government action as the city grapples with the aftermath of a mass crossing of 72,000 people over its border. After meeting Defence Minister Margarita Robles, Vivas said the situation was deteriorating daily and demanded an immediate plan for migrant returns, echoing promises made by Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares. He called for a defined timetable and concrete measures to restore normality while protecting the border.
Vivas described conditions in Ceuta as unsustainable, warning that each day without decisive action further undermined the city’s stability. Nearly two weeks after the border incident, hundreds of migrants, adults and minors, remained on the city’s streets, disrupting daily life and deepening residents’ sense of abandonment. In later remarks, Vivas said that between 25,000 and 30,000 people had remained after the initial phase of the July crisis, with about 15,000 still present after subsequent departures. He warned that the situation could trigger a social explosion without effective action and said the events amounted to a direct attack on Spain’s territorial integrity.
During his appearance at City Hall, Vivas praised Defence Minister Robles for speaking directly with residents affected by the crisis. Unlike other ministers, he said, Robles showed a willingness to listen to the community and understand its concerns. Vivas also called for a greater military presence in Ceuta, arguing that defending the city is impressive to Spain’s broader security. He reiterated his request to confine those still living on the streets, a measure he had proposed earlier in the week.
Subsequent figures showed the scale of the emergency and the different ways authorities counted arrivals and returns. The Government of Ceuta estimated at least 96,058 entries during the July border surge, an accumulated administrative estimate rather than an individually verified count of every entrant. Spain’s central government reported 11,756 returns to Morocco from 10 August, comprising 11,225 voluntary returns and 531 expulsions. The Spanish government later reported that more than 12,700 people had returned between 10 August and 20 October. Reuters, meanwhile, reported that around 7,000 to 8,000 people remained dispersed across the city, with charities and civil-society groups helping provide accommodation and support.
Vivas’s position reflects continued mistrust of Morocco, which he described as an unreliable partner. He warned that migrant returns alone would not resolve the issue and urged the government to assess what Ceuta and Spain need to prevent similar incidents. His call for a structured return plan also raises procedural questions: unaccompanied minors and people seeking international protection require individual assessment and cannot simply be treated as adult Moroccan nationals eligible for readmission. During the 2021 Ceuta crisis, Spain’s Interior Ministry said it had used “all legally established procedures,” while Amnesty International described around 5,000 cases as summary returns requiring investigation. The episode highlighted tensions between the Spain-Morocco readmission structure and safeguards for individuals.
Spain’s Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, said there were “no covert deportations under any circumstances,” describing the returns as voluntary. Reuters reported that authorities had received up to 1,200 asylum applications and resolved 700. More than 1,000 people remaining were estimated to be from sub-Saharan countries whose nationals receive asylum in Spain in more than 90% of cases. Those figures help explain why demands for rapid returns coexist with the need to assess protection claims individually.
The crisis continues to put pressure on the city, where many residents are frustrated by the lack of clear solutions. Calls for a structured return plan and stronger security measures have become central to local debate. For more context on the initial escalation and the government’s emergency response, see this earlier report on the Ceuta border crisis.
Ceuta, a Spanish enclave on the North African coast, has long faced challenges related to irregular migration because of its proximity to Morocco. The surge tested the city’s infrastructure and strained relations between local and national authorities. Frontex figures cited by Europa Press recorded 18,260 irregular crossings to Spain through the Strait route in the first nine months of 2026, a 26% increase for that route. The figures excluded the mass Ceuta entry of 30-31 July. That distinction matters because routine route totals do not include the exceptional land-border surge at the center of the crisis. The episode has renewed debate over Spain’s migration policies and the need for sustainable, long-term measures that address humanitarian responsibilities while protecting border security.
