Overview
- Spanish authorities say the rush that began in late July has been largely reversed, reporting that about 70,000 of roughly 72,000 people who entered Ceuta have returned to Morocco by August 5.
- Local services remain strained and roughly 1,100 unaccompanied minors are still in Ceuta as officials arrange identification and transfer to mainland Spain for care and processing.
- Official counts of deaths during the crossings vary and remain contested, with reports of dozens to scores of fatalities as migrants swam or crossed around the enclave's sea barrier.
- Investigations are underway into organised smuggling, social‑media mobilisation and whether Moroccan authorities relaxed border enforcement, while Rabat denies orchestrating the movement.
- The episode has produced quick political fallout across the EU, extensive misinformation that fact‑checkers have debunked, and renewed debate over Spain's court limits on summary sea pushbacks and wider EU migration deals.