Spain is continuing to expand temporary accommodation in Ceuta as thousands of migrants remain in the North African city following the mass entry from Morocco at the end of July.

The central government has increased reception capacity from around 500 places before the crisis to several thousand, with a target of around 6,000 temporary places. New facilities are being used to move people away from beaches and streets while authorities carry out identification and administrative procedures.

New 1,700-Place Facility Opens at Port

One of the latest additions is a temporary accommodation facility at the Muelle de Poniente in the port of Ceuta.

The facility opened on Friday, September 18, with capacity for 1,700 people. According to Spanish government sources, all 1,700 places were occupied within hours of opening.

The limited capacity meant that hundreds of migrants who had been waiting to enter the facility had to return to informal settlements on the beaches of Benítez and El Trampolín.

The port facility was established on approximately 16,000 square metres of port land. The Audiencia Nacional had previously rejected a request by a police union to suspend its temporary use.

More Temporary Sites Across Ceuta

The port facility is part of a wider expansion of temporary accommodation.

The Ministry of Inclusion announced four new temporary and extraordinary humanitarian-assistance sites in August. These included the parking area at Loma Colmenar, the La Hípica facilities, the former football field at the Cavalry Barracks and the Guano area. The initial expansion was intended to provide 1,500 additional places.

Other locations and infrastructure have subsequently been added as the government has sought to increase available capacity.

Government Target of 6,000 Places

On September 15, the Spanish government said 4,160 people were already accommodated in temporary facilities and undergoing triage and identification.

The government said another 1,800 places would be enabled in the following days, bringing the planned total to around 6,000 temporary places.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had also said the government intended to continue increasing capacity and could eventually approach 10,000 places if necessary. That was presented as a future capacity objective rather than accommodation already available.

Identification and Return Procedures

The temporary sites are not simply long-term accommodation centres.

Spanish authorities are using them in connection with registration, identification and humanitarian assistance while determining the appropriate administrative procedure for each person.

The government has said that people without a recognised right to international protection must first be formally identified before return procedures can proceed.

Spain's Interior Ministry reported that more than 70,000 of the approximately 72,000 people who entered Ceuta during the late-July mass crossing had subsequently left the city.

Government Deploys Additional Humanitarian Infrastructure

The Spanish government has also deployed emergency humanitarian infrastructure through the AECID START team.

The system includes 10 tents measuring 42 square metres and 40 inflatable tents measuring 36 square metres, providing more than 1,800 square metres of additional infrastructure and capacity to assist up to 600 people on site.

The facilities are intended to reinforce registration and humanitarian-support operations and were added to other tents and sleeping infrastructure being deployed by government departments.

Pressure Remains on the City

Despite the expansion, accommodation capacity remains below the number of people who continue to need assistance.

On September 18, the opening of the 1,700-place port facility was followed by scenes of large numbers of people waiting outside after the available capacity had been reached.

Reuters reported that thousands remained without formal accommodation, with humanitarian organisations estimating that several thousand people were still sleeping outdoors. Those estimates are attributed to the organisations and have not been presented as an official government figure.

Children Are Being Handled Separately

The accommodation challenge also includes unaccompanied minors, who fall under the child-protection responsibilities of the relevant authorities.

The government has repeatedly highlighted the need for separate arrangements for children and adolescents while adult migrants undergo identification and administrative procedures.

The national emergency plan approved in September also allocated additional funding to strengthen Ceuta's reception resources for unaccompanied migrant minors.

Crisis Began With Mass Entry in July

The current accommodation effort follows the mass entry of migrants from Morocco on July 30 and 31.

Spanish authorities ultimately put the number of people who entered at around 72,000. More than 70,000 subsequently returned to Morocco, according to the Interior Ministry, leaving a much smaller but still substantial population requiring accommodation and processing.

The episode placed significant pressure on Ceuta's existing reception infrastructure, which had contained only around 500 to 600 places before the crisis.

Spain Continues to Increase Capacity

The central government's response has therefore combined temporary accommodation, humanitarian assistance, identification procedures and efforts to process returns.

The latest expansion is focused on preventing people from remaining on beaches and streets while the authorities work through those procedures.

However, the rapid filling of the new 1,700-place port facility shows that available accommodation remains under considerable pressure.

The Situation Remains Unresolved

As of September 20, Spain continues to add temporary accommodation in Ceuta while authorities process the people who remain following the July mass crossing.

The government has set a capacity target of around 6,000 temporary places and has indicated that it could create additional capacity if required. At the same time, thousands of people remain outside formal accommodation, according to estimates reported by humanitarian organisations.

The immediate challenge is therefore twofold: increasing space quickly enough to reduce outdoor living conditions while completing the identification and legal procedures required to determine each person's status.