{"id":69760,"date":"2026-08-12T19:03:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T19:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/69760\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T19:03:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T19:03:21","slug":"spain-to-round-up-ceuta-migrants-and-hold-them-in-warehouses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/69760\/","title":{"rendered":"Spain to round up Ceuta migrants and hold them in warehouses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Migrants in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta will be rounded up and held in warehouses before their deportation to Morocco.<\/p>\n

As many as 8,000 of the more than 70,000 illegal migrants who surged across the border<\/a> last month remain in the territory.<\/p>\n

Spain’s interior ministry told The Telegraph that a warehouse in Tarajal, yards from the Moroccan border, and another in the exclave would be used as temporary accommodation.<\/p>\n

Officials hope to return the migrants within 72 hours of locating them, during which time they will be transported to the warehouses to be identified and processed.<\/p>\n

\"Migrants<\/p>\n

Migrants are being held at a warehouse in Tarajal – Antonio Sempere<\/p>\n

But there are legal questions about migrants who apply for international protection, whose applications must be examined under Spanish and European law and with the appropriate safeguards.<\/p>\n

The Spanish government’s rapid returns plan<\/a> does not override their right to have an asylum claim processed.<\/p>\n

Also complicating the process is the status of children<\/a> who crossed into Ceuta.<\/p>\n

While Morocco is expected to accept the return of adults accompanied by children, each unaccompanied child will need to have their case examined on its own merits.<\/p>\n

\"Migrants<\/p>\n

Migrants in Ceuta queue for food – Violeta Santos Moura\/REUTERS<\/p>\n

Sira Rego, Spain’s youth and children minister, said last week that 1,342 unaccompanied migrant minors had been registered in Ceuta.<\/p>\n

Before minors can be deported, their age, family, identity and safety back home must be established, weighing up the best interests of the child.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Jos\u00e9 Manuel Albares, Spain’s foreign minister, insisted that Spain and Morocco were working together to ensure that “every last person who has entered Spain irregularly returns to Morocco”.<\/p>\n

\"Migrants<\/p>\n

As many as 8,000 migrants remain in Ceuta after crossing the border last month – Juan Carlos Lucas\/ZUMA Press Wire\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Making the first visit of a Spanish foreign minister to the exclave, Mr Albares claimed that Morocco had conveyed its “total willingness” to accept the return of its people.<\/p>\n

But tensions still remain between the two countries, with Morocco’s national human rights council on Wednesday condemning alleged assault and mistreatment of some of the migrants who entered Ceuta.<\/p>\n

Without Rabat’s co-operation, Madrid<\/a> could be powerless to return the thousands who remain in its territory.<\/p>\n

Spain is appealing for support from European leaders and EU officials responsible for internal affairs to help with the deportation process.<\/p>\n

Mr Albares claimed Ceuta and the nearby exclave of Melilla protected the integrity of the Schengen area and their borders could not be regarded as solely a Spanish matter.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The minister also warned anyone still seeking to cross the border<\/a> into Ceuta not to risk their life, money and future on an “adventure doomed to fail”.<\/p>\n

Those entering Ceuta or Melilla irregularly, he said, should know that they would be returned and would not be able to use the two Spanish cities as a route to the mainland or to remain indefinitely in Spanish territory.<\/p>\n

Spain believes that social media played a role in triggering the crisis, and Mr Albares directly blamed the spread of false information and the distortion of a supreme court ruling as contributing factors.<\/p>\n

The foreign ministry is trying to counter those messages through its own channels and through co-operation with the European Commission and digital platforms.<\/p>\n

\"Sign<\/p>\n

Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Migrants in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta will be rounded up and held in warehouses before their deportation…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":69761,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3299,3309,2264,17,27383],"class_list":["post-69760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-spain","tag-ceuta","tag-illegal-migrants","tag-morocco","tag-spain","tag-temporary-accommodation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}