Spain begins phased dismantling of the migrant camp at the port of Ceuta

Second operation at the port and the plan to close the centers

Spain's National Police on Monday, November 10, resumed the operation to clear the temporary migrant camp at the port of Ceuta — a Spanish exclave on the North African coast — returning to the site before 7 a.m., a day after the first operation on Sunday. The goal is to close the camp completely. Migrants are being moved to other government-provided housing or to the Temporary Stay Center for Foreigners (CATE) in El Tarajal, where their migration status is being verified. Those who wish may voluntarily return to Morocco, while the rest are transferred to facilities of the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration. This was reported by Euronews.

Scale: 7,000 places and 5,800 people

Under the government's plan, all seven temporary reception centers set up around the city after the mass arrivals in late July will be closed in stages. Together they hold about 7,000 places and currently accommodate around 5,800 registered people. The dismantling began on Sunday: 50 tents of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (Aecid) were removed from the port's western quay.

Dispute over port security and the court

The use of port land for reception centers was criticized on security grounds: the port is considered a strategically important facility. In September, the Ministry of the Interior temporarily reinforced maritime security and raised the port's alert level to the second level, stating that the camp had altered the usual conditions for operating and protecting the facility. The Unified Police Union (SUP) challenged the decision to create the camp in court and asked to suspend its opening, but the National High Court (Audiencia Nacional) denied this precautionary measure.

More than 300 returns in two days

The closure of the camp accelerated voluntary departures. According to the local newspaper El Faro de Ceuta, more than 300 Moroccans who had spent more than three months in Ceuta awaiting the review of their cases returned home over the past two days. The outlet links their decision to poor prospects of legalization and the rejection of most asylum applications. According to the latest official figures, since late July, when an estimated 80,000 migrants arrived, 14,818 people have returned to Morocco: 14,180 voluntarily and 638 deported. Spain's Minister of Migration Elma Saiz reported that 6,113 people have completed the review procedure, while 3,650 minors remain in the care of Ceuta's local authorities.