Spain reports most migrants have returned to Morocco after Ceuta breach
Spain says about 48,300 of the roughly 60,000 migrants who entered the enclave of Ceuta have gone back to Morocco, while Italy has temporarily suspended its Schengen travel agreement with Spain.
Spain's government announced that an estimated 48,300 migrants had returned to Morocco by Friday evening, suggesting that the majority of the roughly 60,000 people who entered the North African enclave of Ceuta have left. The figure was provided by Spanish authorities and corroborated by Reuters, which reported that many migrants were voluntarily walking back through border posts and fence gaps, while others struggled to find food or shelter.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez attributed the surge to human-smuggling networks that misinterpreted a recent Supreme Court ruling limiting the summary deportation of sea-arriving migrants. > "The misinformation about the Supreme Court’s ruling spread like wildfire over the past few hours through the networks of human trafficking organizations," Sanchez said on social media.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares emphasized that the Schengen area’s integrity remains intact, noting that travel from Ceuta or Melilla to mainland Spain still requires police identification checks. > "Practically the entirety of those who entered Ceuta have already returned to Morocco," he wrote on X.
In response, Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani announced a one-month suspension of the Schengen free-travel pact with Spain, describing the measure as necessary to protect security and European borders. The suspension applies to maritime and air entry points for non-EU nationals arriving from Spain, while travel for EU citizens remains unaffected.
Other EU members voiced concern. Germany’s interior minister Alexander Dobrindt said Berlin will extend internal border checks beyond September, citing the Ceuta incident as evidence of the volatile migration situation. Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen called for the EU to consider suspending Spain from Schengen, and France’s interior minister ordered tighter controls at the Spanish border.
The death toll from the breach was revised to 57 bodies recovered on the Spanish side, with additional casualties possible in Morocco. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the images from Ceuta, urging an end to dangerous crossings and swift returns of irregular migrants.
Moroccan police used tear gas to disperse crowds near the fence, and the incident has prompted a broader debate on migration policy and Schengen cooperation across the continent.