Hundreds of migrant children are stranded in Spain’s Ceuta after mass crossing

Hundreds of migrant children are stranded in Spain’s Ceuta after mass crossing 1 of 5 | A 12-year-old unaccompanied minor who crossed into Spain is escorted by a Spanish soldier to the Spain-Morocco border as the child begs not to be sent back to Morocco from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. The forced deportation of the unaccompanied minor was stopped by a high-ranking official a few meters before the child reached the border after residents and journalists said the migrant was a minor. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) 2 of 5 | A 12-year-old unaccompanied minor who crossed into Spain is escorted by a Spanish soldier to the Spain-Morocco border from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. The forced deportation of the unaccompanied minor was stopped by a high-ranking official a few meters before the child reached the border after residents and journalists said the migrant was a minor. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) 3 of 5 | Migrants who crossed into Spain from Morocco gather around a bonfire on a beach in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) 4 of 5 | Migrants who crossed into Spain from Morocco sleep on a beach in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) 5 of 5 | Migrants who crossed into Spain from Morocco gather on a beach in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere) By Bernat Armangue and Joseph Wilson Updated 7:43 PM MESZ, August 3, 2026 Leer en español 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) — The teenage girl made it through the waves to Spanish territory. Her little brother did not, drowning in the Mediterranean, while their mother disappeared in the chaos when tens of thousands of people surged through the breakwater, trying to leave Morocco behind. The tragic story of a 17-year-old from Tangier is representative of the plight of many of the more than 800 minors who four days after the collective push by migrants into Ceuta face a scary present and an uncertain future. She told an Associated Press photojournalist how she and her family joined the massive crowd that tried to swim around a border fence to reach the Spanish territory on Thursday. Like many, she said they did so seeking better opportunities. The AP is withholding her identity because she is a minor in a vulnerable situation. She described how she saw Spanish police pull the body of her 8-year-old brother from the water. She made it to the shore but became separated from her mother, and has spent the last four days on her own. She said some locals gave her food and some clothing, with one woman taking her into her home so she could bathe. She then went to a center for youths run by the government for some help, but found it was full. “I saw people stepping on the dead,” she said through a translator since she doesn’t speak Spanish. “Now we are children begging on the street.” ‘I just want a chance': Moroccans sought better future in collective crossing to Spain territory 2 MIN READ Hundreds of migrants are swimming from Morocco to the Spanish territory of Ceuta 5 MIN READ 747 What to know about the Spanish enclave of Ceuta as migrant arrivals from Morocco spike 5 MIN READ 747 She is one of some 860 minors who remained in Ceuta on Monday after crossing over, according to local officials. AP journalists saw other minors asking for food. Those minors now make up a large part of the 3,000-5,000 migrants who have avoided expulsion from Ceuta of the original 60,000 who came across. Spanish authorities confirmed 72 people died, mostly in the water, during the crossing. Morocco reported 11 deaths which are not included in the Spanish total, the Spanish interior ministry said. Spanish law says that adult migrants can apply for asylum. If rejected, they will face expulsion procedures. The bar is normally very high for Moroccans to be granted humanitarian protection. Migrant minors who are unaccompanied by adults, however, are supposed to be granted protection and taken care of by Spanish authorities. An AP journalist witnessed Spanish soldiers escorting an unaccompanied Moroccan boy who was crying and begging not to be sent back to Morocco. A few meters before reaching the border, and due to pressure from local residents who insisted he was a minor, as well as the presence of the media, a lieutenant colonel in the Spanish Army stopped the repatriation and transferred the boy to the Spanish Civil Guard. Most of the Moroccan adults have either voluntarily gone home or were pushed back by Spanish police. Among those who remain in Ceuta are significant numbers of people from other countries, including Sudanese fleeing their war-torn country, Palestinians from Gaza and Afghans, as well as people from several African nations. The city’s migrant center with a capacity for 600 people is completely full. Food is scarce among the migrants, according to reporting by AP journalists. “The strategy is that hunger, thirst and exhaustion forces these people to finally decide to voluntarily return to Morocco,” said local migration activist Ramsés Mohamed Azumik of Asociación Elín. Many migrants sleep or rest on the beach or hills surrounding the speck of Spain. In the hazy distance, mainland Europe, their ultimate goal, lies across the sea. Associated Press writer Joseph Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain. Joseph Wilson Wilson covers Spanish news and sports for The Associated Press. He is based in Barcelona. twitter mailto