More than 7,000 people had returned to Morocco by 22 September, mostly voluntarily. Spain is now considering a decree to speed up further returns from Ceuta, while Sumar says asylum rights and legal safeguards must remain in place.
More than 7,000 people had returned to Morocco by 22 September. Of those, 6,791 went back voluntarily and 318 were expelled under formal procedures. Thousands still remained in Ceuta.
The Government is considering a decree to speed up the return of migrants who entered Ceuta during the mass arrival on 30 July. The measure has not been approved. Ministers may bring it before the Council of Ministers next Tuesday.
Its stated purpose is to help restore normality in the autonomous city while people who arrived during the episode remain there. The clock is running.
The influx of 30–31 July was estimated in official and media reports at more than 70,000 to 72,000 people, although a large proportion subsequently returned to Morocco.
The size of the episode explains the political pressure. Between 30 and 31 July, more than 70,000 to 72,000 people entered the city over a short period, according to official and media estimates. Many later returned to Morocco. Thousands were still in Ceuta weeks afterwards.
The ministries involved are working to finish the measure before Tuesday's meeting. The Executive has not promised that the decree will be presented or approved on that date.
Óscar López confirmed on Saturday that the Government was preparing measures to speed up returns. The minister for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service said a possible royal decree was one option under consideration. He did not commit the Cabinet to a final decision.
For now, the plan remains at the discussion stage. López said Ceuta needed concrete support, not demonstrations or insults. He said the priority was to find solutions instead of extending the problem.
By 22 September, the Government said that more than 7,000 people had returned to Morocco since 10 August: 6,791 voluntarily and 318 following expulsion procedures. It also said that family reunification should remain the priority for minors.
Sumar responded with a legal warning.
Sira Rego said the Government must follow the legislation now in force, including the right to asylum and its related protections. The minister for Youth and Children said officials were working on the deadlines. She also stressed that any faster process must stay within the law and protect humane treatment.
The issue is most sensitive for unaccompanied minors. Euronews reported that Rego said on 21 September that most of the roughly 2,000 unaccompanied minors who arrived after the July border breach would remain in Spain under national law. They would not face a blanket return. The Government has separately said that family reunification should guide decisions involving children.
Political pressure is coming mainly from the Partido Popular. Its secretary general, Miguel Tellado, asked why the Government had not returned the migrants through the route they used to enter or activated the legal mechanisms for immediate return. He spoke at a march called by Sociedad Civil Española and linked the issue to his demand for elections and a change of government.
PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo made a similar case in Ceuta on 21 September. He said the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum and the Return Directive provide mechanisms for accelerated repatriation. The opposition wants faster and broader returns. The Government says any timetable must fit asylum law and the individual assessment of each case.
Juan Bravo had already called for faster returns in Ceuta. The PP deputy secretary for Finance, Housing and Infrastructure said a legislative change could be completed within a week. He said that would let the Government carry out the returns immediately. Bravo also called for a law to address the needs of Ceuta's residents.
The figures remain disputed.
Local authorities said on 11 September that around 13,000 people were still in Ceuta. About 10,000 had arrived on 30 July. The central Government later used an estimate of 9,000 to 10,000 people. On 21 September, Ángel Víctor Torres said slightly more than 3,000 of the remaining 10,000 were living on the streets.
The disagreement now centers on a specific question. The Government wants to examine whether the deadlines can be shortened. The PP demands immediate action. Sumar says speed cannot override asylum rights or the safeguards set by law.
No decree has been approved. No final timetable for the returns has been announced.
Returns are already taking place under existing procedures. At a Government briefing reported by La Moncloa on 22 September, officials said many people whose protection applications were unsuccessful returned after they were notified that the process had begun.
Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has also described Morocco as fully cooperating on the returns. Media reports have included accusations of delays.
That distinction matters in Ceuta. The Executive presents the proposed measure as a way to restore normality, but its legal limits will determine how fast it can work. Until the Council of Ministers decides whether to take up the proposal, the promised acceleration remains a Government plan, not a change to the return process.
