Spain’s National Court on Wednesday ruled to halt the opening of a new “temporary” illegal migrant shelter near the Port of Ceuta that has been the subject of protests by locals and questioned by a national police union.
The court ordered an immediate provisional suspension of the camp’s final preparation works and impending opening pending a final ruling on the matter.
The Spanish socialist central government has been setting up several “temporary” shelters across Ceuta to house the thousands of invading migrants that still remain inside the North African exclave following the late July invasion of the city.
Public showers at the illegal migrant settlement on El Trampolin beach, on 14 September, 2026 in Ceuta, Spain. In the early hours Sunday morning, police made several arrests in Ceuta on suspicion of illegal possession of weapons, breaking and entering, and sexual harassment, during a night also marked by two fights that left two people injured, one of them by a knife. ( Marcos Moreno/Europa Press via Getty)
As part of the central government’s “response” to the Ceuta crisis, the Spanish Transport Ministry took control of the Ceuta port earlier this month and began preparations for a 16,000 square meter migrant shelter near the port’s west pier, aiming to house at least a thousand migrants in the facility.
Ceuta-based outlets reported on the “imminent” opening of the location earlier this week, given the advanced state of the preparations.
Local residents and workers peacefully expressed their indignation over the impending opening of the center by staging a peaceful protest on Tuesday. Some of the protesters expressed their concerns over the almost-ready migrant shelter, given the location’s proximity to port fuel deposits and 50-meter distance from a nearby school.
Other protesters voiced their fears on the possible repercussions to their personal safety that could arise from the migrant shelter — noting the dramatic surge in violence, sexual assaults, and other crimes across Ceuta derived from the migrant invasion.
SUP had reportedly further justified the injunction request alleging that the migrant shelter violates all existing critical infrastructure protection protocols, and generates insecurity not just to law enforcement, but to its immediate surroundings.
As part of the injunction, Transport Minister Óscar Puente was ordered to refrain from taking any action in the area until the court thoroughly examines the arguments of the parties and determines whether to uphold the provisional suspension of the work or not. The Unified Police Union celebrated the ruling in remarks shared with El Faro de Ceuta.
“We have managed to immediately halt the implementation of a decision that directly affected the Port of Ceuta and about which we had been raising serious concerns and highlighting significant risks,” the union reportedy said.
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On Wednesday afternoon, the National Court ruled in favor of a motion presented by Spain’s Unified Police Union (SUP) seeking a preliminary injunction to halt the new migrant shelter. Per the Spanish public broadcaster RTVE, which obtained a copy of the court ruling, the police union argued that the Transport Ministry did not duly notify of the establishment of the camp and did not provide crucial relevant information. The claimants noted that no such information was published by the government at the Official State Gazette.
“This is a major legal and union victory for the SUP and demonstrates that, when we act firmly, decisively, and swiftly, we are capable of influencing decisions of enormous significance,” the text continued.
Conversely, officials from the Spanish government’s delegation to Ceuta expressed to be “perplexed” by the court ruling. The officials reportedly asserted that the court’s orders “stop an immediate operative solution” that was soon-to-be implemented to transfer migrants currently in the streets of Ceuta to “facilities specifically designed for your accommodation.”
Per Europapress, Transport Minister Óscar Puente said on Thursday morning that he is “surprised” by the ruling and affirmed that he doubts that there are alternatives for the halted shelter if its suspension is maintained by the National Court.
“Let’s see what we do,” Puente reportedly said.