Sánchez faces criticism as Ceuta remains overwhelmed 50 days after mass crossing
Fifty days after a large influx of migrants, President Pedro Sánchez has not identified any perpetrators and only one person has been returned to his country of origin.
More than seven weeks after a massive arrival of migrants in Ceuta, President Pedro Sánchez still has not pinpointed who organized the crossing and only one migrant, who entered the city prior to the surge, has been sent back. Sánchez has not spoken with Ceuta mayor Juan Jesús Vivas since the day police were ordered to keep the border open, and his promises of a security plan for the enclave remain unfulfilled. Temporary housing now provides around 6,000 beds, yet the city is forced to shelter thousands more, including about 2,850 children, far exceeding its normal capacity of 29.
The European Parliament has described the event as a hybrid invasion and urged Morocco to assume responsibility, while the Spanish government continues to emphasize “loyal collaboration” with Rabat. Official figures show roughly 1,917 triage files processed and a small number of voluntary returns, but the total number of migrants still present is uncertain, with estimates ranging from 5,800 in temporary units to several thousand living in makeshift camps.
Why it matters
The ongoing crisis in Ceuta highlights Spain's migration challenges and strains its relations with Morocco and the EU.
How this story developed
- Aug 21 Spanish police detain five suspected migrant smugglers operating from Ceuta
- Sep 10 Judge María Tardón filed a request for copies of the declassified intelligence reports.
- Sep 10 Regional economy minister asserted that the national government possessed advance intelligence on the Ceuta crossing and did not implement preventive measures.
- Sep 11 Czech and Hungarian leaders condemned the EU’s emergency aid for Ceuta.
- Sep 11 Gonzalo Sanz, chief of staff to the Government delegate in Ceuta, stepped down after receiving CNI alerts about a massive migrant arrival.
- Sep 12 A police‑commissioned report described Moroccan border police as unusually sparse and granting migrants “total permission.”
- Sep 13 Minister Sira Rego urged autonomous communities to assume responsibility for Ceuta’s unaccompanied minors.
- Sep 13 The foreign minister announced an urgent trip to Brussels for talks with EU officials.
- Sep 16 After intense negotiations, the European Parliament approved a resolution introduced by the Partido Popular that calls on Morocco, as a key EU partner, to fulfill its border-management and migration-return obligations. The text labels the Ceuta event as an invasion and condemns Morocco's demands over the sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla as unacceptable. Conservative groups supported the measure, while the PSOE-led socialist bloc opposed it.
- Sep 16 The Guardia Civil raided a cramped apartment on Real street in central Ceuta, finding 25 migrants - six of them minors - living in squalid conditions.
- Sep 17 The European Parliament adopted the revised Ceuta resolution after intense negotiations.
- Sep 18 The Audiencia Nacional's Contentious‑Administrative Chamber approved the use of Ceuta port for a temporary migrant shelter.
- Sep 18 The government and defence ministry secured an unprecedented public clarification from the CNI regarding the pre‑surge intelligence alert.
- Sep 18 about 850 migrants were settled in 50 tents at the port while others returned to beach camps
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