Spain's National Court halts Ceuta port migrant camp after police union appeal
The National Court in Madrid has temporarily suspended plans to set up a temporary migrant reception facility at the Port of Ceuta, ordering the Ministry of Transport to halt works and submit unreleased administrative files following a legal challenge by a police union.
Suspension of port works
The Eighth Section of the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of Spain's National Court ordered the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility to freeze the execution of a resolution authorizing a temporary reception camp at the Port of Ceuta. The judicial order, issued on Wednesday morning, halted the construction of tents, rest zones, and healthcare stations intended to accommodate individuals who reached the autonomous city during crossings on 30 and 31 July.
The court ruled that the government cannot execute the order until judges rule on an urgent precautionary measure requested by police representatives. The tribunal ordered the ministry to submit the resolution and the complete administrative file electronically with extreme urgency, noting that the ministerial authorization had not appeared in the Official State Gazette.
Union safety challenges
The ruling answered an appeal filed by the Unified Police Union (SUP), which requested an immediate halt without prior hearings for the administration. The union challenged the decision to place a reception facility beside critical port infrastructure, noting its proximity to fuel and energy storage areas.
The union pointed to recent fires in informal settlements across Ceuta as evidence that safety protocols must be established before opening the site.
Recent fires recorded in various settlements in Ceuta also demonstrate the need to evaluate in advance the risks of fire, evacuation, and emergency response, both for the sheltered individuals and port users and workers, as well as for the police officers who will have to intervene.
The union advocated for alternative solutions to relieve pressure on the autonomous city, including chartering a residential ship to house arrivals temporarily.
We do not question humanitarian assistance. We question improvising a location of these characteristics without previously proving all safety guarantees.
Relocation timeline and capacity
The contested plan designated roughly 16,000 square meters in the western expansion of the port under a resolution signed on 5 September by Transport Minister Óscar Puente. That agreement authorized the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration to operate the site until at least the end of the year, with capacity estimates ranging between 700 and 1,700 places depending on source estimates.
- Arrivals enter Ceuta from Morocco during crossings across 30 and 31 July
- Transport Minister Óscar Puente signs resolution allocating 16,000 square meters of port land
- Unified Police Union files urgent appeal against unpublished port camp order
- National Court suspends execution of ministerial order and demands administrative files
- Scheduled start date for transferring first 800 migrants from beach camps to port tents
The central government planned to begin transferring the first 800 migrants from improvised settlements on El Trampolín beach on Thursday morning. The port location had drawn opposition from business owners, residents, and the autonomous government of Ceuta, who argued that occupying the port area interfered with a strategic economic asset.
