The decision of the National Court to initially suspend the placement in the port of Ceuta and then, 24 hours later, validate the relocation of about 1,700 immigrants there, put all the focus on this operation, which was originally planned for Thursday but had to be carried out this Friday from early morning. “It has been a difficult operation due to the call effect,” government sources point out, arguing that more people than those settled have gathered on the Trampolín and Benítez beaches, coming down from the mountain and other places to the beaches, seeking to be among the first to secure a spot in the camp. Pedro Sánchez, who had an institutional event this morning, has been monitoring the operation at all times. Minister Ángel Víctor Torres is in contact with the Government of Ceuta, which was informed of the transfer.
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With the arrival of the first agents of the Security Forces and Corps, the first moments of tension were experienced, as there were races among the immigrants to be the first and thus secure a spot, which even led the agents to fire shots into the air. “What happened with the National Court made it so that, unlike other operations, everyone was paying attention.” Government sources do not share the criticism that it would have been necessary to increase the number of agents, because they believe the situation was controlled in a short time and was handled in a “civilized” manner. “An operation to transfer 1,700 people had never been carried out before”; “There was no violence, it was well managed by the agents who were present,” they maintain.
All in all, the Government points out that the operation is going “well,” but they are “concerned.” There are more people waiting than can fit in the Port settlement, which has about 1,700 spots. By midday, 500 immigrants had already entered this enclosure.
Between 9,000 and 10,000 immigrants
As of last Tuesday, there were 4,160 immigrants housed in temporary resources enabled at different points in the city. With the 1,700 spots at the Port, the number of housed people would reach 6,000. Government sources state that the figures provided by the Police, with the operation in Ceuta, indicate that there would still be about 3,000-4,000 immigrants on the streets of the autonomous city. These data add up to the following total: between 9,000 and 10,000 people remain from the total who crossed. The last official figure given for the mass entry was 72,000 people. This figure matches the forecast given by Pedro Sánchez, when he said they expected to enable sites to accommodate 10,000 people if needed.
The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, during recent weeks, including his appearance in Congress at the end of August, placed the number of immigrants still remaining in Ceuta at around 5,000.
So far, work has not yet begun to enable new sites to accommodate more immigrants. Relocating them to these controlled areas is key to being able to register them and thus start the process that allows their return to Morocco or the processing of possible asylum requests.
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