Police carried out another early-morning operation at Ceuta’s Trampolín Beach, where around 500 migrants returned overnight after security forces and Ministry of Inclusion staff had relocated 1,800 people to prepared facilities the previous day. Authorities arrived at 7:30 a.m., dismantled makeshift tents and dispersed those present. The occupation resumed almost immediately after police withdrew.
Most of the migrants are young men from North Africa who arrived during the mass crossings at the end of July. More than 80,000 people were reported to have entered Ceuta on July 30 and 31, and the great majority returned to Morocco shortly afterward. Authorities had previously described the eviction as “voluntary,” and many migrants said they stayed on the beach because they had been told it was an option. This time, the operation focused on clearing the area, with no new accommodation offered. The beach, once covered by more than a hundred improvised shelters, saw fewer tents reappear as soon as police left, a sign of the limited impact of repeated clearances.
Later operations followed a process of removal and referral, rather than leaving people at cleared sites. People found in informal locations were taken to the Centro de Atención Temporal para Extranjeros (CATE) for identification, then referred to the Loma Colmenar reception facility. Adults were also offered the option of voluntary return to Morocco. The reported procedure was used in operations at Trampolín, Playa de Benítez and the Fábrica del Guano; authorities distinguished these clearances from formal expulsions.
On October 18, about 350 security officers took part in a separate major operation that removed and transferred around 500 people from what was described as Ceuta’s last major migrant settlement. The group reportedly included about 200 minors. Migrants were also being located in peripheral neighborhoods such as Los Rosales and El Tarajal and transferred to the CATE, while operations extended to garages, rooftops, homes and industrial areas. The wider response shows that clearing beach encampments did not end the presence of people living in informal accommodation across the city.
On October 23, Ángel Víctor Torres, Spain’s minister for territorial policy and democratic memory, said that 13,101 people had returned voluntarily to Morocco since August 10. The government had made nearly 8,000 reception places available, with approximately 6,100 occupied at the time. Authorities had conducted 5,400 screenings of adults and 310 involving minors. Torres also said Ceuta’s protection system had registered and supported 3,434 unaccompanied minors: 114 had transferred to mainland Spain after family reunification, 181 had been relocated to other autonomous communities, and 63 family-reunification files had been sent to Morocco.
Conditions remain harsh for those staying in the area. Migrants continue to sleep on the sand or in the surrounding hills, where basic sanitation is lacking and the risk of illness is high. Local residents, especially those living in nearby villas, have expressed growing frustration and fatigue as the situation enters its fourth week. The city council says further clean-up operations will continue, but the cycle of eviction and return shows no sign of ending.
The humanitarian challenge in Ceuta extends beyond Trampolín Beach. More than 100 migrants had received international protection by October 22 and were completing the police procedure required to obtain identity cards that would let them move elsewhere in Spain. Once documented, they could join a protection programme for transfer to mainland Spain and later relocation, or travel independently. Their status differs from that of people whose cases remain unresolved in temporary reception facilities. Previous government actions include the urgent transfer of vulnerable minors to mainland Spain, as detailed in reports such as the recent relocation of 500 migrant girls from Ceuta.
Ceuta’s position as a Spanish enclave on the North African coast makes it a frequent entry point for irregular migration. The city’s limited resources and infrastructure are under strain, and the repeated occupation of public spaces such as Trampolín Beach points to broader challenges facing Spanish authorities. Authorities are still trying to balance humanitarian needs with public order, while a lasting solution remains elusive.
