Ceuta is under severe strain: the city’s only hospital is treating migrants for scabies and tuberculosis, as well as gastrointestinal infections associated with prolonged periods outdoors, information from Reuters, citing Enrique Robiralta, head of the doctors’ union. The influx began with a mass crossing from Morocco on 30 and 31 July, overwhelming local protection and emergency services. Although fewer migrants are now seen in the city center, people continue to face precarious conditions on the outskirts, including in areas such as El Príncipe and El Tarajal.
Authorities have increased patrols by police and the Guardia Civil, with military units also deployed, particularly after visits by central government officials. The heightened presence has pushed many migrants away from the city center but has not eased pressure on peripheral districts. In El Príncipe, young migrant girls have been moved to a recently refurbished industrial building after reports of threats of sexual violence. Meanwhile, unaccompanied minors have faced unsafe and unsanitary conditions in El Tarajal. The scale of the child-protection emergency was stark: on 22 October, Ceuta was sheltering 3,390 minors, 117 times its ordinary capacity of 29, according to figures attributed to the city’s government by EFE.
Residents describe a city transformed. Many say they no longer feel safe walking alone, and social media is flooded with videos of altercations and break-ins. Some families have sent their children to the mainland for safety. Ceuta’s identity, shaped by its location and multicultural history, is now marked by tension and fatigue. The immediate response has included local emergency accommodation and transfers elsewhere in Spain: by 21 October, 3,331 migrant minors had entered Ceuta’s protection system, while 288 had moved to other parts of the country, 107 through family reunification and 181 to autonomous communities under Article 35 of Spain’s Immigration Law, RTVE reported, attributing the figures to Inclusion Minister Elma Saiz. These transfers are separate from returns to Morocco, which concern adults.
Ceuta opened up to 12 extraordinary facilities in response to the pressure, also to seven already operating and three structural facilities, bringing the total to 22 temporary or extraordinary resources. Sites included Tarajal and Loma Margarita, along with Barranco Piniers, Cabrerizas Bajas and Arroyo Benítez, EFE reported. The central government has provided accommodation and humanitarian assistance: by 21 October, the state had made 7,477 places available in temporary resources. The government says ordinary care for unaccompanied minors is the autonomous city’s responsibility, while national authorities provide additional capacity.
Processing has also struggled to keep pace. Reuters reported that about 100 migrant cases a day were being registered by 14 October, citing police-union representative Raul Piera, who attributed the bottleneck to shortages of staff and functioning computers. By 19 October, 262 minors had been transferred to mainland Spain, according to Reuters. The administrative backlog has added to pressure on accommodation and protection services. Reuters also reported that doctors at Ceuta’s only hospital were treating migrants for scabies and tuberculosis, as well as gastrointestinal infections, citing Robiralta. These health concerns came amid broader criticism of the conditions faced by people who had spent long periods outdoors.
Spain’s government reported that more than 12,700 people returned to Morocco between 10 August and 20 October 2026. It also said the General State Administration had activated accommodation resources with more than 7,400 places, where most adult migrants still in the city were housed. The government linked the measures to the dismantling of large informal encampments and described its response as “swift, effective and necessary.” Its account presents the operation as a combination of returns, state-provided accommodation and the removal of beach camps. The government’s cumulative return figure covers a defined period after the July mass arrival, while the article’s earlier estimate of about 600 voluntary departures refers to the initial wave of returns.
Ceuta’s experience is not isolated. Other Spanish cities have faced emergencies that tested local infrastructure and public safety, including the recent fire in Madrid’s Chamberí district, which forced the evacuation of two residential blocks and highlighted the vulnerability of urban services (see more on the Chamberí evacuation). In Ceuta, authorities are focused on restoring order and providing humanitarian aid as the city adapts to a new and uncertain reality. The government’s October update said large encampments had been dismantled and most remaining adults were in state-provided facilities. The reported registration bottleneck and health needs, but, show that services still face large demands.
Ceuta’s position as a Spanish enclave bordering Morocco has long made it a focal point for migration. The city’s infrastructure, designed for a population of 83,000, has been stretched by the arrivals. The crisis has highlighted the need for coordinated action between local, regional and national authorities: the autonomous city is responsible for the ordinary care of unaccompanied minors, while the central government has provided additional accommodation, supported transfers to mainland communities and organized returns of adults to Morocco.
