Rabat – Spain’s Minister for Territorial Policy Angel Victor Torres estimated that between 150 and 200 migrants of those who entered the Spanish-occupied enclave of Ceuta in July, return to Morocco daily on a voluntary basis.
A report by EFE quoted the minister as stating on Monday that 160 people returned to Morocco over the past 24 hours.
He also estimated the number of those remaining in Ceuta streets, including minors at 3,000. Spain and Morocco witnessed one of the largest mass crossings on July 30-31, with Spanish reports estimating the number of those who entered the enclave between 70,000 and 80,000.
The mass migration crisis prompted an emergency agreement between Rabat and Madrid on the return of all migrants who had entered the enclave due to a social media campaign alleging open borders and swift regularization and social integration once on Spanish territory.
The campaign that incited the mass migration crisis also alleged those who entered would not be subject to deportation, misusing the Spanish Supreme Court verdict of July 8 – which ruled against the “immediate” or “hot” return of those who entered Spanish occupied enclaves by sea.
Torres renewed Spain-Morocco commitment on the return of migrants, stating that only those entitled to international protection will remain in the enclave.
He said this category does not constitute the majority of those who entered from Morocco in late July, as well as minors who cannot be reunited with their families.
According to EFE, this category will go to mainland Spain to prevent overcrowding in the city of Ceuta.
Meanwhile, El Pais has reported that over 1,000 minors are still living on the street in Ceuta, with several subject to mistreatment and abuse even in shelter centers.
Many escape the centers, with girls stating that staff members call them “whores,” according to the report, quoting girls who said they had managed to escape from the centers.
“They beat us, they punish us if we ask to use a mobile phone or for a pillow,” one of the girls said, explaining that many are still trapped at the centers.
The girl has a bruise on her thigh, the report noted, stressing that “the others also have bruises and various types of injuries, which they photographed and included in the police report.”
