Spanish foreign minister says all migrants who entered Ceuta will be returned

On Tuesday, José Manuel Albares became the first Spanish foreign minister to visit the enclave of Ceuta after a wave of illegal migrants flooded the city twelve days earlier. He declared that all individuals who remain in Ceuta will be returned to their home countries, primarily Morocco, and emphasized ongoing daily coordination with Moroccan foreign minister Naser Burita. Albares asserted that none of the migrants have been permitted to travel to the Spanish Peninsula and that the two governments are prepared for immediate repatriations.

The Spanish government reports about 2,000 migrants still in Ceuta, a number contested by local president Juan Jesús Vivas, who estimates around 10,000 remain and says the central response has been insufficient. Vivas called for concrete deadlines and legal measures to expedite deportations, warning that granting any documentation could encourage further incursions. The minister also linked the influx to a misreading of a Supreme Court ruling that bars pushbacks at sea.