Spain’s efforts to clear a growing backlog of migrants in its North African enclave of Ceuta are raising concerns over asylum rights, alleged forced returns and the treatment of vulnerable people. With thousands still awaiting decisions, the government faces mounting pressure to accelerate processing while ensuring that people fleeing persecution are not deported without proper assessment.
The crisis intensified after a mass border crossing on July 30 brought thousands of migrants into the small Spanish territory bordering Morocco. Nearly three months later, many remain stranded, sleeping outdoors or relying on charities for food, shelter and medical assistance.
Among them is Fatna, a 21-year-old woman who arrived heavily pregnant with her disabled son. Her newborn daughter is suffering from kidney problems, and the family urgently needs access to specialist treatment on mainland Spain. However, restrictions on travel while her asylum claim is being reviewed have complicated their efforts to obtain medical care.
The case illustrates the wider dilemma facing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government as it attempts to manage the backlog ahead of a snap election scheduled for November 29. While the government insists that its response respects human rights, humanitarian organisations warn that accelerating returns could leave vulnerable migrants without adequate protection.
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Why Is Spain Facing Pressure to Deport Migrants?
Ceuta occupies a strategically sensitive position as one of Spain’s two North African enclaves and Europe’s only land border with Africa. Its small area and limited reception capacity have made the recent influx particularly difficult to manage.
The government is under pressure from European partners and an increasingly frustrated domestic public to resolve the situation. Right-wing and far-right parties have criticised Sanchez’s immigration policies, particularly his earlier decision to grant legal status to nearly one million irregular migrants.
Some political opponents have portrayed the July crossing as a deliberate attempt by Morocco to overwhelm Spanish authorities, an allegation Morocco denies. They have demanded the return of those who entered the territory.
Against this backdrop, the government is seeking to accelerate asylum procedures and encourage migrants considered economic migrants to return, primarily to Morocco.
However, existing European rules require individual assessments of asylum claims. Although Morocco is designated a safe country of origin under EU rules, that classification does not automatically prevent Moroccan citizens from seeking international protection.
Andrea de Petris, an immigration expert at the Brussels-based think tank CEPN, has stressed that each applicant must receive an assessment of their personal circumstances. Such assessments can be lengthy and costly, particularly when authorities face a large backlog.
The challenge for Spain is therefore not simply to process cases faster, but to distinguish between people seeking better economic opportunities and those who could face persecution, serious harm or other grounds for protection if returned.
Are Migrants Being Returned Without Proper Assessment?
Humanitarian organisations have raised allegations that some migrants were pressured into returning to Morocco or deported without adequate explanation.
Last week, eight charities, including Oxfam and Amnesty International, filed a complaint with Spain’s ombudsman alleging serious rights violations in Ceuta. The complaint included allegations of forced returns involving migrants from conflict-affected countries and inadequate access to interpreters and legal assistance.
At least nine non-governmental organisations have also alleged publicly or in interviews that migrants they support were coerced into returning.
According to the complaint, Asociación Elin said Sudanese and Chadian migrants were summoned by police on September 24 and 25 and deported without warning.
Messages reviewed by Reuters also showed Moroccan migrant Azhaar Chaouni telling volunteers at the German organisation Mission Lifeline that police had collected him and others from makeshift beach camps in buses, telling them they were being taken to reception centres. He later reported that they had been returned to Morocco without explanation.
Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska has rejected allegations of covert deportations, describing the returns as voluntary. The government said this week that approximately 12,000 people had chosen to return since mid-August, while up to 1,200 asylum applications had been received and 700 resolved.
However, the conflicting accounts highlight the difficulty of establishing whether returns are genuinely voluntary and whether applicants have been given a meaningful opportunity to pursue protection claims.
The Spanish central government and several relevant ministries did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment on the allegations.
Why Are Vulnerable Migrants Particularly at Risk?
The backlog has left people with potentially strong claims to asylum or humanitarian protection in precarious circumstances. These include unaccompanied minors, people fleeing conflict, LGBTQ+ individuals facing persecution and families with serious medical needs.
For Moroccan migrants, the prospect of return can be especially difficult for those who fear persecution because of their sexual orientation.
Rayane, a 19-year-old gay Moroccan awaiting a decision on his asylum application, told Reuters that he had been rejected by his family and feared returning to a country where same-sex sexual acts are criminalised. He is currently staying at the San Antonio migrant reception centre.
Other families face urgent medical concerns. Fatna’s family has been receiving assistance from the centre, which has accommodated dozens of vulnerable people despite normally having space for only seven.
Wendell Soares, the centre’s coordinator, warned that some people could face serious danger if returned to Morocco. He emphasised that migrants should not be treated as a single group because each person has different circumstances and protection needs.
The European Union’s asylum framework requires authorities to consider individual claims, including relevant vulnerabilities. Expedited procedures cannot simply eliminate those safeguards.
Can the EU Migration Pact Solve the Ceuta Crisis?
The situation is also exposing practical difficulties in implementing the EU’s new migration and asylum framework.
The pact envisages faster processing at external borders, including procedures intended to facilitate returns. However, frontline workers and humanitarian organisations say Ceuta’s experience demonstrates how difficult it can be to meet the prescribed 12-week processing period when infrastructure and staffing are inadequate.
Police union representative Raul Piera said that only around 100 migrant cases were being registered daily as of October 14, citing shortages of personnel and functioning computers. The union estimated that approximately 7,000 to 8,000 migrants could still be scattered across the enclave, although the government has declined to confirm estimates of the unregistered population.
Piera warned that the remaining workload could extend well into next summer.
The pressure is also affecting healthcare. Doctors in Ceuta’s only hospital have been treating migrants for scabies, tuberculosis and gastrointestinal infections associated with prolonged periods outdoors. At least seven women have given birth during the crisis.
Although the EU framework seeks to accelerate border procedures, it also permits transfers to other border-processing locations within Spain. Such transfers could ease pressure on Ceuta while allowing authorities to continue examining asylum claims.
Juan Miguel Morales, director-general of the NGO Sur Acoge, has argued that transferring vulnerable migrants to mainland Spain or other appropriate facilities is the only realistic way to ensure their cases receive proper consideration.
Authorities have already transferred 262 minors to mainland Spain since the July crossing. Extending relocation arrangements to other vulnerable applicants could help reduce overcrowding without relying exclusively on returns.
What Happens Next?
Spain faces a difficult balance between managing irregular migration, responding to domestic political pressure and upholding its obligations under European asylum rules.
Accelerating administrative procedures may help reduce the backlog, but insufficient staffing, limited reception capacity and inadequate access to legal assistance risk undermining the fairness of decisions. If people are returned before their individual circumstances are properly examined, Spain could face further legal challenges and criticism from humanitarian organisations.
A more sustainable response would combine additional processing resources with legal assistance, interpretation services, adequate medical care and transfers for vulnerable applicants. Clear safeguards would also be necessary to establish that any voluntary return is genuinely voluntary.
The political stakes are considerable as the November 29 election approaches. Sanchez’s government must demonstrate that it can manage the crisis effectively while defending its commitment to migrant rights.
For the people still stranded in Ceuta, however, the consequences are immediate rather than political. Families waiting for medical treatment, young people fearing persecution and migrants fleeing conflict remain dependent on a system struggling to process their cases.
The crisis ultimately raises a broader question for Europe: can governments accelerate migration enforcement without compromising the individual protections that underpin the right to seek asylum?
With information from Reuters.
