Thousands of migrants are still in Spain’s northern African territory of Ceuta after a border crisis last week, the head of the enclave has said.

Juan Jesús Vivas told the European Parliament that between 3,000 and 5,000 migrants remained in Ceuta. He said that many times that number had arrived during the initial surge, which saw about 78,000 people reach the territory by sea from neighbouring Morocco within hours.

Vivas said he felt “profound sorrow” at what he described as an “irreparable tragedy”, adding that 100 people had died during the crossings. He said the situation had left Ceuta facing continued pressure, with humanitarian needs and disturbances to public order still ongoing.

Ceuta After The mass Arrival

Vivas, a conservative, criticised the Spanish government’s response, saying he had personally told Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez that it had been “late and insufficient”.

He said Ceuta lacked key information on how many people were still in the territory, arguing that the absence of numbers showed limited resources to manage the crisis. He also said warnings from local officials about an increase in sea arrivals had been ignored.

While he said the return of nearly 75,000 migrants to Morocco had “considerably alleviated” the situation, Ceuta had not returned to normal. He said the territory was still in a humanitarian emergency and that public order had been affected.

On migrants who are minors, Vivas said it was “basically impossible” to send them back because any return required their consent.

Aid For Minors And Disputes Over Numbers

Spain’s interior minister has said the government has allocated €25m to assist minors in Ceuta.

But Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported that 4,860 migrant children had been registered by volunteer groups, saying the figure was double official estimates. El Mundo also carried comments from a volunteer warning the situation was “unsustainable”.

According to El País, no children had been moved to mainland Spain so far, citing reluctance among right-wing local authorities to take them in.

---

• EU Schedules Emergency Talks Over Ceuta Migrant Surge

• Trump's Role Questioned After Ceuta Disaster

---

The crisis has also fed into political disagreement between Spain’s regions. Some right-wing figures have pointed to an agreement with Morocco on cooperation to return migrant children to their families, while the conservative leader in Melilla called for a “gesture of solidarity” from colleagues on the mainland.

Social Media Calls For More Crossings

Vivas said new calls for mass crossings were circulating online, according to Moroccan media. Hespress reported that posts and messages were shared encouraging people to join closed WhatsApp groups, using hashtags linked to migrating to Spain and job opportunities there, despite warnings from Moroccan authorities that those promoting irregular migration could face prosecution.

Spain and the EU have also been dealing with the wider repercussions of the surge, which has contributed to tensions among member states in the Schengen area that share open internal borders.

EU Fallout And The Morocco Dispute

The EU Commission praised Spain’s “swift response”, which it said included deploying armed forces to Ceuta and to Melilla.

However, divisions among EU countries have grown. Italy suspended its Schengen arrangements with Spain, with support from Finland and Denmark, while the Czech Republic called for Spain’s Schengen membership to be temporarily suspended, despite Sánchez saying Ceuta is not part of Schengen.

Magnus Brunner, the EU’s Migration Commissioner, suggested criminal networks spreading disinformation may have contributed to the crossings, and Sánchez agreed with that assessment. The EU official also said the bloc should use leverage such as visa policy and trade to press Morocco to cooperate.

Brunner said the EU was “ready to do more” in Ceuta but had not received a further request for EU border guards from Spain.

Morocco has blamed the crisis on Spain’s Supreme Court ruling that migrants stopped at sea while trying to reach Ceuta or Melilla cannot be summarily returned to Morocco. A Moroccan government source briefing local outlets said the “deterrent element” collapsed and “the dam gave way” because of a judge’s decision, not because of the actions of criminal networks.

Vivas also questioned why Morocco’s border guards did not attempt to stop the attempt, describing it as an “unequivocal attack”. Spain’s interior minister said he was working “firmly” with Morocco to prevent further “violations” and that migrants still in Ceuta would be returned as soon as possible.

Join the discussion?

7 August 2026

View full article

Spain Sets Border Checks On Flights And Ferries From Italy

Picture courtesy of SkyNews

Spain will introduce border controls on all air and sea travel from Italy after a dispute between the two EU states over migrant screening intensified.

The measures, due to start at midnight (22:00 GMT) and remain in place for a month, were announced a week after Italy brought in similar restrictions following the arrival of about 78,000 migrants from Morocco into Ceuta, a Spanish exclave on the north coast of Africa.

Demands And Timeline For Escalation

On Friday, Spain told Italy to reverse its checks by Sunday. Rome said the controls would continue at least until 15 August, arguing that Spain expects another surge of migration to reach Ceuta at that point.

The disagreement has also become a political fight between Spain’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Italy’s conservative leader Giorgia Meloni, who has repeatedly called for tighter EU migration rules.

Schengen Dispute Over Ceuta Transfers

Italy said last week that it temporarily suspended the border-free Schengen arrangement to prevent migrants who had entered Ceuta from travelling onwards to Italy. Spain rejected the rationale, saying it rested on “spurious arguments” and that people entering Ceuta had no route into the Schengen area.

Spain’s government said this month’s actions are being taken to respond to what it described as persistent irregular migratory pressure.

Italy, for its part, said it would not accept “ultimatums”. It added that it does not intend to reconsider its decision to pause Schengen for third-country nationals arriving from Spain, at least until 15 August and, in any case, until security and terrorist risks for Italy have been fully addressed.

What Checks Will Cover

Spanish officials said that local authorities carrying out checks would do “everything possible” to keep the process comfortable for Spanish citizens and other European travellers arriving in Italy from Spain. Rome also reiterated that Spanish citizens would be exempt from extra checks, with additional steps applied only to non-EU residents.

Despite that, El Pais reported that several airport terminals have seen long queues and waiting times in recent days. The newspaper said passengers arriving from Spain were directed to a specific line for screening.

Spain’s counter-measures, scheduled to begin at the start of Friday night, will include passport, nationality and visa checks for Italian passengers and for visitors from other countries arriving via Italy, Spain said. The government said the measures would remain effective until 7 September unless a change in the circumstances that led to their introduction requires the timetable to be adjusted.

Join the discussion?

8 August 2026

Of course they will remain. Who would be foolish enough to believe they would go back. A lot like all the millions of asylum seekers all over Europe. Asylum law is clear. You grant temporary...temporary permit to stay and when the wars are over in their countries, they are expected to go back as to leave space for others in Europe. But anybody familiar with Europe can see what it has become as most asylum seekers usually are permitted to settle down for good and many take over in politics and other strategic structures of european society. For the best..and also for the worst.

14 hours ago, webfact said:

Aid For Minors

It's law in Spain, but obviously not carried out. No food, no water, no showers (today improved) no future, forced to leave.

It's actually their right to be registered and being supported.

Not fair done by authorities

I must have missed it. Where do these 80k come from? They sure can't all be Moroccans. If not, how did they enter Morocco and why were they given permission to stay?

15 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

I must have missed it. Where do these 80k come from? They sure can't all be Moroccans. If not, how did they enter Morocco and why were they given permission to stay?

They are Moroccan nationals. The whole episode happened so suddenly and with such large numbers that it could only have happened by design, and there’s tons of speculation online, especially from conspiracy theorists. For a more reasoned analysis, Anne Applebaum gives her thoughts in a recent podcast with Charlie Sykes.

15 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

I must have missed it. Where do these 80k come from? They sure can't all be Moroccans. If not, how did they enter Morocco and why were they given permission to stay?

The discussion begins around the 25:00 minute mark of this podcast:

Women in Ceuta are scared of walking down the streets because of all the invaders causing terror.

This is what feminists advocate for, by the way. By promoting the invasion of our countries, they are promoting the rape of our women.

Soon the thousands will be moved to Europe. They are causing issues and easiest is to assist them move forward.

In Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta, outbreaks of tuberculosis, measles, scabies, and infectious diarrhea have begun amid a surge of migrants.

Local doctors are warning of worsening sanitary conditions and the risk of cholera spreading.

Roughly 10,000 migrants remain scattered across the enclave, many sleeping rough on public beaches.

The lack of access to clean water, public showers, or temporary housing has turned local shorelines into severe open-air biological hazards contaminated by waste and human excrement.

There have already been more than 8 rapes of women, yesterday a 10-year-old girl.

Why this woman in Ceuta is so upset about diversity?

A Moroccan telling a Spanish woman how she has to live in Spain and that if she feels unsafe, tough luck, and if they have to stay locked up in their house, let them stay because this is theirs.

Looks like they figured out how to stay entertained.