Thousands of migrants remain in Spain's Ceuta after July crisis

Ceuta government chief Juan Jesús Vivas said between 8,000 and 11,000 migrants could still be in the autonomous Spanish city following the mass influx of irregular migrants at the end of July.

Vivas described the situation as “absolutely unbearable” and called on the Spanish authorities to accelerate the process of returning irregular migrants to Morocco, Caliber.Az reports, citing Onda Cero.

According to him, “the only way out is a return through the Tarajal border crossing.”

In late July 2026, an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 people crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta over roughly 24 hours. Many swam around the Tarajal breakwater or scaled the border fence, in what local authorities described as an unprecedented surge equivalent to a large share of the city’s population of about 83,000–84,000.

The influx was linked by Spanish officials to a Spanish Supreme Court ruling earlier that month preventing the immediate summary return of migrants intercepted at sea, combined with social media rumors and economic pressures in Morocco that encouraged the mass movement. 

At least several dozen people died during the crossings, primarily by drowning or in stampedes, while Spanish authorities deployed troops and most of those who entered returned voluntarily to Morocco within a day.

By Jeyhun Aghazada