Spanish National Police completed the final phase of clearing the Trampolín beach migrant settlement in Ceuta, transporting remaining occupants to the Tarajal border’s temporary center. The two-day operation dismantled a sprawling camp of tents and shanties that had housed over 3,000 people since late July.
Police Clear Remaining Encampment at Trampolín Beach
National Police officers initiated the final sweep at 08:00 on Monday, wrapping up the operation roughly three hours later. The second phase moved much faster than Sunday’s initial push according to reporting from RTVE, which required 13 hours to clear roughly 1,100 individuals from the same stretch of coastline. Law enforcement officials noted that many occupants had already cleared out ahead of the sweep, potentially seeking shelter elsewhere to avoid deportation procedures. In contrast to those weekend figures, Reuters reported that an unprecedented border rush saw more than 72,000 people cross into the enclave from Morocco at the end of July, leaving Spain to estimate that 10,000 migrants remained in the tiny territory.
The cleared shoreline leaves behind mounds of discarded belongings, temporary shelters, and refuse. Municipal workers deployed heavy machinery and trucks to clear the debris, continuing a massive cleanup effort that hauled away 61 tons of waste after the first day alone, utilizing a workforce of more than 50 sanitation employees accompanied by heavy vehicles such as trucks and backhoes. More than 350 officers backed by more than thirty police vans secured the coastal area throughout the two-day operation.
Authorities Process Migrants at the Tarajal Border Center
Buses transported the remaining camp residents directly to the Centro de Atención Temporal de Extranjeros situated at the Tarajal border crossing. Officials at the facility conduct identification screening and process formal expulsion or asylum files. Government representatives have maintained that the vast majority of arrivals will not qualify for asylum. Reuters reported that most migrants are men and boys, and because temporary housing built inside the port for 1,700 people is designed exclusively for adult men, minors are being separated and housed separately.
Territorial Policy Minister Ángel Víctor Torres described the initial weekend clearance as operating smoothly. In a statement on the first day’s results, he noted the operation proceeded sin problemas relevantes de seguridad
alongside an orden magnífico y exquisito
.
Faced with mandatory identification processing, nearly 600 Moroccan nationals chose voluntary repatriation during the weekend sweep rather than entering the CATE facility according to news agency dispatches.
Weather Conditions Complicate Encampment Operations
Both days of police action unfolded under harsh meteorological conditions, with persistent rain and heavy fog blankets complicating the maritime and land deployment. Despite low visibility and wet ground, police sources confirmed the entire operation concluded without major safety incidents.
Even with the primary beach camp dismantled, hundreds of displaced individuals remain in the immediate vicinity. Observers on the ground documented a significant migration of former camp residents toward the Fábrica del Guano sector, an adjacent coastal pocket equipped with public toilets and showers. Police units are already monitoring this secondary spot as a potential focal point for future actions, following a July border surge that brought over 72,000 entries into the enclave.
