Ceuta Considers Urgent Border Infrastructure Works Following July Migrant Arrivals

Agadir – Ceuta President Juan Jesús Vivas announced that the Spanish government is considering urgent infrastructure works to strengthen security along the Ceuta border following the mass arrival of migrants to the city at the end of July.

Vivas made the announcement after a meeting of the committee monitoring the situation in the occupied city, chaired by Spain’s Minister of Territorial Policy Ángel Víctor Torres and attended remotely by up to 10 ministers.

The committee agreed on the need to “intensify the reinforcement of the State security forces” to prevent a repeat of the events of July 30 and 31.

Vivas said additional security measures were also necessary to address what he described as the public’s “perception of insecurity,” which he considers incompatible with a return to normality.

Vivas described the creation of a single command system to coordinate the government’s response as a “successful method.”

According to the Ceuta president, the system facilitates coordination, assigns responsibilities to different departments, and provides an effective mechanism for managing the crisis, with the objective of returning the city to normality as soon as possible.

Read also: Spain Rules Out Morocco’s Role in Ceuta Migration Crisis, Blames Foreign Interference

The committee also addressed the situation of unaccompanied foreign minors in Ceuta during the meeting.

Vivas said it was “impossible” for a city of 84,000 inhabitants to manage the situation and called for an “exceptional” response from Spain’s central government.

He said Ceuta lacks sufficient facilities, financial resources, and personnel to handle the situation.

Vivas also argued that, in the best interests of the child, family reunification should be prioritized. He said Morocco has repeatedly expressed its willingness to receive Moroccan children currently in Ceuta.

The Ceuta president also reiterated that the main strategy should focus on returning to Morocco those who entered the city and remain there.