Spain is moving toward a major shift in its handling of the migration crisis that has gripped Ceuta since last summer. The government is drafting an emergency decree meant to clear the legal hurdles blocking the return of thousands of migrants who entered the city at the end of July, according to reporting published this weekend by the Spanish daily El País.
The draft decree would streamline deportation procedures and, notably, could allow authorities to remove asylum seekers even before their appeals receive a final ruling, with their cases continuing to be processed once they are outside Spanish territory.
The proposal has already exposed cracks within the ruling coalition. Sumar, the government’s junior partner, has objected to any measure that could undermine the rights of those seeking international protection, arguing that removal ahead of a final decision would breach existing legal safeguards. The opposition Popular Party, meanwhile, is pushing in the opposite direction, calling for faster and stricter expulsions.
The cabinet is expected to unveil the decree’s text next Tuesday, though its chances of passing remain uncertain given the coalition’s internal divisions.
On the ground, more than ten thousand migrants are believed to still be stranded in the city. Rabat has signaled its willingness to cooperate in taking back those who do not meet the criteria for international protection, cooperation Madrid considers essential to easing pressure on the enclave.
Spain’s Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, recently said 7,533 people have returned to Morocco since August, most of them voluntarily. Processing the remaining cases is expected to take roughly twelve weeks, a timeline Madrid is now trying to shorten through legislation.
The episode underscores, once again, how heavily Ceuta’s migration management depends on Moroccan cooperation, and how the issue keeps splitting Spain’s political class between humanitarian obligations and pressure for swift results.
