The Spanish Government has ordered the immediate creation of four temporary humanitarian centres in Ceuta after the city was overwhelmed by the sudden arrival of up to 80,000 people from Morocco.
The Minister for Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, confirmed on 17 August that 1,500 emergency places will be installed without delay.
This marks a sharp shift from last week, when Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said everyone who crossed irregularly would be expelled. That position has now been quietly dropped.
Many of those still in Ceuta are asylum applicants or unaccompanied minors. Spanish law prevents their removal under fast-return procedures.
The new sites will be spread across several locations. City authorities have made the Holding Area in Loma Colmenar available. The Spanish Ministry of Defence, which owns a large stock of unused military property, offered the old Otero Flour Factory.
Residents objected, and authorities ruled out the proposal.
Extra capacity will be set up at The Riding School, the former Cavalry Barracks football field, and the disused Guano Factory. This former fertiliser plant once processed bird-based manure and is now empty.
Saiz said the aim is to restore order, protect basic rights and give Ceuta breathing space. She met earlier with the city’s president, Juan Vivas, who has accused the Spanish Government of passivity during the crisis.
Asked whether the plan is now to expel or accommodate, Saiz said the Spanish Government is acting strictly within the law. She pointed out that minors and asylum seekers cannot be returned. The new centres, she said, fall under humanitarian response.
Her department has already declared a €6.5 million emergency to reinforce aid efforts. The Red Cross is leading frontline support. It is distributing around 4,000 food kits a day and has carried out more than 4,000 social and medical interventions since the influx began.
Conditions remain severe at the overcrowded Temporary Stay Centre for Migrants and at Trampolín Beach, where thousands have gathered.
The Spanish Government is still assessing the scale of the arrivals from 30 and 31 July. Saiz did not give updated numbers but said the four new sites will ease pressure on both locations.