At the end of July 2026, 72,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta following the misrepresentation on social media of a Spanish June 29, 2026 ruling that migrants intercepted by sea could no longer be returned without a formal process.
The majority of migrants were returned to Morocco, but a recent Reuters report estimates that between 5,000 and 8,000 people remain in Ceuta. On Sunday, August 16, hundreds of people protested on El Trampolin beach calling for asylum.
People have been driven to enter Ceuta for a variety of reasons, including low wages in Morocco, regional conflict and persecution over sexual orientation. Spain has said that the migrants in Ceuta would not be allowed to stay indefinitely or enter mainland Spain.
Nor is this the first time migrants have tried to cross into Ceuta. In 2021, Morocco was accused of loosening border controls in retaliation against Spain’s decision to treat a Western Sahara independence leader in a Spanish hospital.
The loosened border resulted in over 8,000 migrants swimming or climbing the border fence to enter Ceuta.
