Rabat – Ceuta President Juan Jesús Vivas has claimed that around 15,000 migrants remain in the Spanish-occupied enclave nearly three months after the arrivals of July 30 and 31, as he called on Spain’s central government to accelerate returns to Morocco.
Vivas, a member of Spain’s conservative People’s Party (PP), estimated at a press conference, where he criticized Madrid’s response to the arrivals and argued that Ceuta had yet to return to normal. He based his assessment on a 20% rise in water consumption in September compared with the same month last year.
The Ceuta president claimed that departures so far had taken place through voluntary returns or in connection with criminal cases, rather than through administrative return decisions. He accused Madrid of allowing the situation to deteriorate and warned that local services faced mounting pressure.
Vivas cites pressure on Ceuta’s services and economy
Vivas pointed to figures that he said showed an increase in pressure on emergency services, healthcare facilities, and public infrastructure since the arrivals.
According to data he cited, calls to the 112 emergency service for assaults, fights, and home invasions rose by 184% over the past 30 days. He also reported a 503% increase in incidents at the port and a 60% rise in crime, citing figures from the Superior Court of Justice of Andalusia.
He further claimed that emergency department visits at the local hospital had increased by 400%, while illegal construction had risen by 669%.
“The situation is extraordinarily far from normal, and every day that passes it gets worse because our capacity to resist is weakening,” he said.
Ceuta seeks returns of 3,300 unaccompanied minors
Vivas also called for the return to Morocco of approximately 3,300 unaccompanied migrant minors under Ceuta’s care, a demand that places renewed pressure on Madrid to clarify its approach to the children who arrived in the enclave.
He said authorities had processed only 160 files despite the number of minors in care, which he warned could reach 4,000. He described the situation as unsustainable for Ceuta’s reception facilities and argued that it could also place pressure on other parts of Spain’s child protection system.
The Ceuta president called on the Spanish government to provide additional staff and material resources to accelerate the processing of cases. He also urged Madrid to seek Morocco’s cooperation, with support from the European Union.
Vivas’s criticism comes despite Spain’s acknowledgment of Morocco’s cooperation during the July crisis. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez thanked Moroccan authorities for their willingness to cooperate and said coordination with Rabat was essential to the return process.
Sánchez also credited cooperation with Morocco and other countries of origin and transit with helping Spain curb irregular migration. The Spanish government’s own account of the crisis said that tens of thousands of people returned within the first days, a process it described as impossible without coordination with Moroccan authorities.
Morocco has also called on Spain to return Moroccan minors who remain in its care. Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi said in August that Rabat would pursue the issue through legal and diplomatic channels and would not abandon Moroccan children separated from their families.
He urged Madrid to reach a solution that would allow the minors to return to Morocco and reunite with their families.
