Two weeks after some 72,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, local and national authorities still disagree on how many remain, and on what to do with hundreds of unaccompanied children.
DR reports that Ceuta’s president, Juan Jesús Vivas, said the enclave has suffered and still suffers what he called an invasion. He spoke on Tuesday after a meeting with Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, according to the Spanish newspaper El País. Vivas said the situation had improved considerably, but that Ceuta was not back to normal.
The crossings took place between July 30 and July 31, 2026. Spain’s central government said as early as July 31 that almost all of the migrants had left again. Per the latest official figures cited by DR, about 2,000 migrants remain in Ceuta, and none have been given onward access to the European mainland. Vivas puts the number at 10,000, five times the government count.
Dispute over the number of children
Reuters reported that Ceuta’s local government counts about 1,100 unaccompanied minors in the enclave, while the central government has registered 1,342. According to Reuters, local facilities can hold only around 90 children. AP put the figure at roughly 1,000 minors.
DR notes that El Mundo and El País have reported official estimates of more than 1,000 unaccompanied minors. Volunteer organizations working with the Spanish branch of Save the Children have registered far more, up to 4,860 children. Save the Children says many minors lack proper housing or a place in the system, leaving them especially vulnerable.
The Spanish government has allocated 25 million euros, about 187 million kroner, to support minors in Ceuta. France 24, citing AFP, reported that aid groups warned hundreds of unaccompanied children were at risk of abuse, with reception facilities far beyond capacity.
Spain’s minister for children and youth, Sira Rego, said on Friday that she expects some minors to be moved to the Spanish mainland in the coming weeks. The government is due to decide on those transfers on Thursday. Madrid’s stated goal remains that unaccompanied children be reunited with their families in Morocco, a form of family reunification that would take place outside Spain.
Reuters reported that Morocco’s state news agency MAP said on August 6 that Rabat was ready to cooperate with Spain on returning unaccompanied minors. Albares promised Vivas on Tuesday that all migrants in Ceuta without legal residence would be sent back to Morocco.
More than 1,000 of Ceuta’s 84,000 residents demonstrated on Sunday against Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government, demanding more help. Vivas, who belongs to the conservative opposition party PP, has repeatedly accused the government of acting too late. Spain’s overall handling of the influx was backed unanimously by EU ministers at an extraordinary Council meeting.
