Spanish authorities moved about 1,100 migrants from a beach in Ceuta on Sunday as nearly 600 Moroccans voluntarily returned to Morocco rather than enter a temporary migrant identification center, authorities said.
The operation at El Trampolin beach began early Sunday and ended around 9:30 p.m. Migrants were taken by bus to the Temporary Center for Foreigners, or CATE, near the Tarajal border crossing before being transferred to accommodation and other facilities arranged by the Spanish government.
Spain’s Territorial Policy Minister Ángel Víctor Torres, who is overseeing the response in Ceuta, said the operation was completed “successfully and without incidents.” He thanked police, security forces, the military, translators and other personnel involved.
Torres said authorities were working to restore normal conditions in the city and would continue opening accommodation spaces so migrants would not have to sleep on the streets.
The operation also prompted nearly 600 Moroccan migrants to cross back into Morocco voluntarily by around 7 p.m., according to sources involved in the operation cited by EFE.
Many had reportedly spent more than two months in Ceuta and chose to return after learning that they would not be able to seek international protection or asylum through the process available to them.
Migrants had been living in tents and makeshift shelters on the beach before Spanish police began clearing the area. Those who agreed to enter the CATE were taken there for identification before being transferred to government-arranged accommodation, while those who refused crossed back into Morocco.
The operation also included a major cleanup of the beach. By around 8 p.m., workers had removed about 61 tons of waste from the area, according to figures provided to EFE by the Ceuta government.
The clearance came as authorities sought to ease pressure on Ceuta’s migrant reception system following a prolonged buildup of migrants in the Spanish enclave.
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