Spain’s Ministry of Youth and Children said 1,612 minors were registered in the North African enclave by September 1, including 1,129 identified after the July 30-31 influx. Officials acknowledge that the true number may be higher because an unknown number of children have yet to complete registration.
The figures sharpen concern over children and teenagers still sleeping outdoors, in warehouse districts, wooded areas and improvised shelters after tens of thousands of people entered Ceuta from Morocco over two days. Humanitarian workers have warned that unaccompanied minors face particular risks from violence, exploitation, poor sanitation and lack of privacy.
Ikram, 17, was among young Moroccans who travelled from Fnideq, the border town adjoining Ceuta, at the end of July in hopes of reaching Spanish territory and eventually mainland Europe. Like many teenagers who crossed, she found herself without stable accommodation after the initial relief of arriving in the enclave gave way to uncertainty over registration, protection and onward movement. Her experience reflects a wider problem for adolescents whose legal status remains unresolved despite emergency measures introduced.
Spanish authorities now estimate that about 80,000 people entered Ceuta during the surge, although earlier official and independent estimates were lower. Most returned to Morocco within days, but several thousand remained, leaving local services under exceptional pressure in a city whose normal population is roughly 84,000.
The government approved an emergency package worth €309 million on September 1 to support Ceuta’s economy, reinforce security and expand reception and public services. Of that total, €63.6 million was allocated for measures involving migrant children, on top of €25 million previously approved for the care of unaccompanied minors.
The funding is intended to cover accommodation, food, clothing, medical and psychosocial care, legal assistance, education, translation and transfers. Madrid has also proposed moving about 500 minors to mainland reception facilities while administrative procedures are completed, easing pressure on Ceuta’s overstretched child-protection system.
Youth and Children Minister Sira Rego has said family reunification will be prioritised where it is possible and consistent with the child’s best interests. Families may be located in Morocco, elsewhere in Spain or in other European countries. Where children have no relatives able to care for them, regional authorities are required to assume responsibility for their protection.
Territorial Policy Minister Ángel Víctor Torres said the number of minors still unregistered could not yet be determined. The government has therefore prioritised additional facilities where identities can be established and cases processed, including asylum claims and possible family reunifications.
Conditions remain difficult for migrants outside formal accommodation. Accounts from humanitarian organisations and people living near the Tarajal border area describe children sleeping under blankets or cardboard, with limited access to toilets, washing facilities and secure spaces. Girls and younger children are considered especially vulnerable where adults and minors are mixed in informal encampments.
The humanitarian emergency has also become politically contentious. Ceuta’s authorities have pressed Madrid for faster transfers and removals, while the central government has stressed that children cannot be summarily returned and that repatriation must comply with Spanish law and the overriding interests of the minor.
Madrid has reinforced police, judicial and administrative staff in the enclave and created a central coordination structure under Torres. The measures include additional personnel to process asylum and return cases, healthcare support and a contingency plan aimed at protecting women and girls from sexual violence.
The July crossing was fuelled partly by social-media messages suggesting the border could be breached or was opening, prompting large numbers of people to travel towards Fnideq. Many attempted to enter by land or swim around the coastal barrier, producing chaotic scenes and a significant death toll whose precise total has varied among official and humanitarian accounts.
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