The Partido Popular (PP) has stepped up pressure on the Spanish government to accelerate the return of migrants who entered Ceuta during the mass crossing on 30 and 31 July 2026. The party wants immigration services in the autonomous city operating around the clock, with staggered shifts throughout the day and overnight, to process expulsions without delay. PP spokesperson Borja Sémper said all necessary immigration units and staff should be deployed to Ceuta so every migrant can be returned to Morocco as quickly as possible.
The demand comes amid a dispute over what counts as a return. The PP de Ceuta says no returns have been completed through the administrative files opened after the July crossings, separating those cases from voluntary departures and expulsions linked to criminal offences. Ceuta President Juan Jesús Vivas, also a PP member, said the city had received no return under an administrative resolution. The central government, by contrast, reported that 13,101 people had returned to Morocco since 10 August. That figure includes departures under different procedures and does not, on its own, show how many July-related administrative files resulted in a return.
Ceuta remains under pressure from limits on reception and processing capacity. Government figures cited in October put the number of formally identified unaccompanied minors at 3,434; other reports counted 3,390 under the city’s protection system. More than 50 unaccompanied minors were reported to have slept outside police headquarters as they waited to be identified and moved to reception facilities. The government said it had created nearly 8,000 reception places, with about 6,100 occupied. It had also carried out 5,400 adult triage assessments and 310 assessments involving minors.
Estimates of the wider migrant population vary with the groups and locations counted: local officials referred to more than 7,000 people remaining in camps, while Vivas cited a broader figure of around 15,000. The government’s reported return total includes people who left through different routes, among them voluntary departures. Vivas said approximately 12,000 people had returned voluntarily after a unified command structure was activated on 25 August. The national government also reported more than 500 judicially ordered expulsions during the following two months. These figures are separate from administrative returns under the files opened after the July arrivals.
The PP has made clear that it opposes redistributing migrants to mainland Spain, even as minors have been transferred under separate procedures. Under Article 35 of Spain’s amended immigration law, autonomous communities receive minors from territories formally declared to be experiencing a migration emergency. October reporting cited 181 minors relocated to reception centres in other autonomous communities. A further 114 were transferred to mainland Spain for family reunification. Those transfers are separate from returns to Morocco. The government has also been preparing to transfer 500 vulnerable girls to other regions over concerns about their safety. Sémper said return is the party’s priority, not relocation, and did not comment on how PP-led regions would respond if required to accept minors.
The party has also revived a controversial proposal to confine migrants diagnosed with infectious diseases. Gastroenteritis and scabies were among the examples; tuberculosis was another. The proposal has drawn opposition from scientific societies, including the Sociedad Española de Epidemiología. Its president, Maria João Forjaz, said current conditions do not justify such measures. She argued that the most effective approach is to ensure dignified living conditions and access to sanitation. Safe water and adequate shelter, she said, are also needed to prevent outbreaks.
PP leadership acknowledges that more data is needed before any confinement could be considered, and that the Ceuta government, led by PP’s Juan Jesús Vivas, has not formally requested such action. Still, the party insists the government should study the option rigorously, warning that inaction would be a serious mistake. Any confinement decision would require prior reports from the Ministry of Health. Separately, Ceuta’s government said it was considering legal action before Spain’s Supreme Court over what it called state inaction on administrative returns.
Migrant returns from Ceuta have previously sparked diplomatic tension between Spain and Morocco. In a related report, Morocco formally requested that Spain repatriate both survivors and deceased migrants following earlier mass entries. Managing migration flows at the border also depends on cooperation with countries of origin.
Ceuta, a Spanish enclave on the North African coast, has long been a focal point for irregular migration from Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa. Large-scale arrivals often strain the city’s limited resources and infrastructure. Spanish law requires authorities to protect unaccompanied minors and consider their best interests, complicating immediate returns. The government’s ability to carry out returns depends on administrative capacity and agreements with Morocco, as well as compliance with legal obligations. Public health recommendations for migrants can also diverge from political proposals.
