Spanish police cleared thousands of migrants from El Trampolín beach in the enclave of Ceuta early Thursday. The migrants are being moved into temporary accommodation while their asylum cases are processed.
DR reports that a large police deployment arrived at the beach on the morning of Thursday, August 20, 2026. Officers from the National Police and the Civil Guard drove into the area at 7:21 a.m. with around 30 vehicles.
Up to 4,000 migrants had been living at the informal camp since the mass crossings from Morocco on July 30 and 31, according to DR, citing the Spanish newspapers El Mundo and El País. The migrants were sorted into groups by language and led away from the beach.
They are being transferred to temporary reception centers in Ceuta with capacity for about 1,800 people. El Mundo reports that the Interior Ministry plans to assess asylum claims at the centers and, in most cases, start return procedures to Morocco.
El País reports that Spain’s Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations describes the transfer as voluntary. It was coordinated with the state security forces and the government of Ceuta, per the same ministry.
RTVE reports that two sites are already in use, the Loma Margarita car park and the Embolsamiento area at Loma Colmenar. They form part of a plan for four humanitarian facilities that could later reach 4,000 places.
Estimates of the camp’s size differ. El Mundo and La Voz de Galicia report more than 3,000 people on the beach. Morocco World News, citing EFE, puts the first phase at 1,700 people and says groups were separated by origin to prevent clashes.
Political dispute in Spain
Ceuta’s leader, Juan Jesús Vivas, said Monday that up to 10,000 migrants remain in the enclave, DR reports. He accused Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of concealing the situation and threatened legal action if nothing happened within 30 days.
The government’s plan to move 500 minors from Ceuta to the mainland has angered the opposition parties PP and Vox. Several regions led by the two parties have refused to receive migrants from Ceuta. PP spokesperson Juan Bravo says the children should be sent back to Morocco.
Migration minister Elma Saiz says the transfer to the mainland is necessary for the safety of underage girls in particular. The government points to Spanish law, which gives the state a special duty of care for unaccompanied minors.
EFE reports that the European Commission on the same day repeated its expectation that Spain will return all migrants who entered Ceuta at the end of July, while protecting vulnerable people. RTVE reports that the operation was driven by the need to house people sleeping outdoors in precarious conditions.
