Spanish police evicts migrants from Ceuta beach camp, moves them to shelters
Police moved more than 1,200 migrants into temporary shelters as officials expanded capacity and prepared to transfer 500 unaccompanied children to the mainland.
- On Thursday, August 20, 2026, Spanish police surrounded Playa del Trampolín in Ceuta to clear a makeshift migrant camp, moving occupants in groups of 30 under escort. By late morning, the beach was empty for the first time since July.
- Thousands began camping on the beach after a July 8 Supreme Court ruling halted fast-track returns, forcing migrants to remain in Ceuta. Conditions deteriorated severely, with sanitation shortages and a scabies outbreak spreading among residents.
- Officers divided migrants by nationality to prevent clashes during transfers to temporary sites. Government Delegation confirmed more than 1,200 people were moved into Loma Margarita and El Embolsamiento by late Thursday morning.
- The Migration Ministry stated the operation was designed "to guarantee proper humanitarian care, protect people's fundamental rights and preserve their dignity." Separately, officials announced 500 unaccompanied children will be transferred to the Spanish mainland.
- Around 10,000 migrants remain in Ceuta, up from 8,000 when city president Vivas issued a 30-day deadline for central government action. Vivas warned he would take the crisis to Spain's Supreme Court and Constitutional Court if conditions do not improve.
55 Articles
55 Articles
Thousands of Migrants in Ceuta Wait in Limbo While Spain Figures Out What to Do with Them
For weeks, migrants in the Spanish territory of Ceuta had gathered on a beach away from the city center, sleeping on cardboard sheets, under reed huts and guarding their few possessions in tattered plastic bags. They were gone by Thursday morning after Spanish police escorted them to makeshift shelters. But an hour later, other migrants were combing through the trash they had left behind for anything useful: an abandoned mattress, plastic chairs…
More than a thousand migrants who are once again concentrated in that area after being evicted on Thursday.
After the relocation, El-Trampolino beach was cleaned, but some of the migrants subsequently returned.
Three weeks after the arrival of numerous people in Ceuta, Spain wants to establish two temporary reception places in its exclave.
Spanish security forces have "cleared" a beach in Ceuta where thousands of migrants have camped, reports El País.
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