In Ceuta, some migrants cling to hopes of someday reaching mainland Spain

In Ceuta, some migrants cling to hopes of someday reaching mainland Spain 0 seconds of 39 secondsVolume 0% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 Next Up Crowds of migrants swim around border from Morocco into Spanish territory of Ceuta 01:00 Subtitle Settings OffEnglish(US)_v Font Color White Font Opacity 100% Font Size 100% Font Family Arial Character Edge None Edge Color Black Background Color Black Background Opacity 50% Window Color Black Window Opacity 0% Reset WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25% 200%175%150%125%100%75%50% ArialCourierGeorgiaImpactLucida ConsoleTahomaTimes New RomanTrebuchet MSVerdana NoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop Shadow WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% 00:00 00:39 00:39 More Videos 01:00 Crowds of migrants swim around border from Morocco into Spanish territory of Ceuta 00:30 Crowd breaks through border from Spanish territory of Ceuta from Morocco 02:14 Why is the Spanish territory of Ceuta a flashpoint for migration from Africa? 01:47 Moroccans who crossed into Ceuta explain why they attempted to reach the Spanish territory 01:25 People at the Tarajal border fence in Ceuta as migrants try to reach Spanish territory 01:27 Trump says US could see surge of migrants like Spain if Republicans don't win midterms 01:22 Haitian migrants helped create New Orleans' culture, now SCOTUS says they can no longer live here 01:25 The Mediterranean's warming waters are drawing hundreds of invasive species Close 1 of 6 | Most of the 60,000 migrants who swam, scrambled and later charged into the tiny Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa this week had walked back to Morocco by Sunday, officials said. 2 of 6 | A migrant who crossed into Spain from Morocco prays on a beach in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) 3 of 6 | Migrants who crossed into Spain from Morocco collect water distributed by Spanish soldiers in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) 4 of 6 | A Ceuta resident sits at a bus station as migrants who crossed into Spain are escorted by Spanish soldiers toward the Spanish-Moroccan border, for their return to Morocco from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) 5 of 6 | Migrants who crossed into Spain from Morocco line up for water distributed by Spanish soldiers in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) 6 of 6 | Migrants who crossed into Spain from Morocco line up for water distributed by Spanish soldiers in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) By SUMAN NAISHADHAM Updated 9:07 PM MESZ, August 2, 2026 Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit CEUTA, Spain (AP) — Dikra, a 20-year-old migrant from Morocco, had spent five days in Ceuta by Sunday after swimming to the Spanish territory with her younger sister and cousin. Since then, all her meals have come from local residents, and she isn’t sure when her next one will come. Yet Dikra is certain she does not want to go back. “I want to stay. I want to go to Spain,” Dikra said, who asked that her last name be withheld for safety reasons. By Sunday afternoon, Dikra was among the last remaining migrants in the city after tens of thousands of the 60,000 migrants that had breached the border with Morocco on Thursday and Friday walked back to that country. At least 72 people died in the crossing, and the humanitarian crisis the sudden rush of people caused reignited a debate around immigration in Europe and beyond. In Tangier, Dikra said she worked as a cleaner, but decided to leave alongside her sister and cousin, in part to escape her alcoholic father. She hopes to make use of a hairdressing diploma in continental Spain — from which she remains separated by the Strait of Gibraltar and the European Union’s complex asylum system. Abdel Karim, 35, also from Morocco, waited outside Ceuta’s official migration reception center on Sunday, asking for updates about what officials were saying they would do with the holdouts still in the city. Karim was unemployed in Morocco, and had lived in continental Spain years ago, before he was expelled from France where he was living on the streets. Spain installs sea barrier on Ceuta’s border with Morocco after frontier rush that killed 67 5 MIN READ 233 What to know about the Spanish enclave of Ceuta as migrant arrivals from Morocco spike 3 MIN READ 32 ‘I just want a chance': Moroccans sought better future in collective crossing to Spain territory 3 MIN READ 32 “In Morocco, I’m seen as a deportee,” Karim said. “Those who are deported know what it means — stress, depression, anguish.” Karim said he saw posts on social media about those making the crossing and took advantage of the chaos. He crossed with 10 euros in his pocket, he said, and pointed to his blistered feet. In Spain, Karim said he wants to do whatever work he can find, and remained unfazed about how he would get there. Ceuta and its sister city Melilla are not part of the European Union’s Schengen area, and those traveling to mainland Europe must go through border checks upon arrival. At a beach in Ceuta, hundreds of migrants who had arrived days earlier gathered on Sunday evening. Some crowded around an army truck where Spanish soldiers distributed water. Senegalese migrant Cesse Aliou, 25, rested with a group of sub-Saharan men and women outside the nearby shelter. In Morocco, Aliou said he earned 279 euros ($322) a month at a call center, but the work wasn’t stable. So he boarded a train in Casablanca to Tangier and then to Fnideq, where he said he swam to Ceuta. Across the street, on another wooded patch near the shelter, a group of migrants began fighting over water that local residents had brought to the area. “We are very tired. To eat, to sleep, it’s very difficult here,” said Aliou, pointing to the scuffle. “You see how the situation is.” SUMAN NAISHADHAM Naishadham is an Associated Press reporter covering Spain and Portugal. She is based in Madrid. twitter mailto