Overwhelmed by surge in migrants, Spain’s Ceuta calls situation in enclave ‘humanitarian emergency’

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta has declared a “humanitarian emergency” as it grapples with a dramatic surge in young migrants overwhelming its facilities, local officials announced on Friday.

Ceuta's government reported that its facilities for unaccompanied minors are operating at 360% over capacity. Alberto Gaitán, a government spokesperson, told broadcaster Cadena Ser, “The city of Ceuta, which spans just 18 square kilometers (7 square miles), cannot find new spaces to accommodate them with dignity. We will not allow the city to become a prison for migrants.”

This year, Ceuta has seen a six-fold increase in irregular migrant arrivals compared to 2023, according to official figures.

In response to the crisis, Ceuta's government held an emergency meeting on Thursday night and announced plans to petition Madrid for additional resources and to accept more migrants on the Spanish mainland.

The Canary Islands are also struggling with a migrant crisis, with an urgent need to relocate at least 3,000 of the 6,000 young migrants currently housed in specialized shelters due to overcapacity.

From January 1 to July 31 this year, nearly 30,000 migrants reached Spain irregularly by land or sea, marking an 80% increase from the previous year. The Canary Islands alone saw nearly 21,500 arrivals.

Spain’s government recently proposed a bill to require regional governments to accept a quota of young migrants from the Canary Islands and the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. However, the bill failed to pass after opposition parties and the Catalan separatist party Junts voted against it.

Despite this, the conservative Popular Party’s voluntary agreement to host just under 400 young migrants in its governed regions led to the far-right party Vox dissolving alliances and breaking regional coalition governments. Ceuta is governed by the Popular Party.