Overview
- Spanish National Police, supported by the Guardia Civil and the military, dismantled the El Trampolín camp in Ceuta in early October and removed roughly 3,000–3,500 people to managed reception points or the Tarajal border crossing for processing.
- Officers used armored vehicles, patrol boats and drones and placed a military security line around the site to carry out the operation and to move people by bus for either voluntary return to Morocco or registration for placement in reception tents.
- Authorities told migrants they could return voluntarily or register, but many said they feared biometric registration would make future deportation easier and that true voluntariness was undermined by the heavy police presence.
- Humanitarian groups including Mission Lifeline criticized the clearance for operating under heavy police pressure, saying individual asylum and protection checks were not guaranteed and describing some actions as de facto deportations.
- The clearance drew local media attention partly because it took place days before a planned visit by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, and it highlights the wider EU–North Africa challenge of balancing border control with legal protections for vulnerable migrants.