A new large influx of migrants from Morocco into Ceuta is possible on Ferragosto. Riot police have already been deployed at the border, while social media campaigns continue to encourage thousands of non‐EU residents to head to the area. There is also maximum alert in Melilla.

For days messages have circulated on social media urging a repeat of the scenes of July 30 and 31, when 72,000 migrants managed to enter Ceuta irregularly by swimming, bypassing the El Tarajal breakwater. Madrid reported 83 deaths, while some estimates spoke of 140 victims. Online appeals multiply: “The Ceuta border will be open on August 15, a public holiday in Spain,” read some posts, according to El País, which aim to mobilize a new mass rush. In response, Rabat has reinforced the Fnideq border post with hundreds of officers in an attempt to prevent a new assault.

New alert, Piantedosi: “Stop the suspension of Schengen until Italy’s security is guaranteed”

It was Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi who warned last Thursday that, because of the new social media buzz, a new mass entry into Ceuta could occur on August 15. While Morocco strengthens controls, the minister stressed the risks of radicalization, confirming that the suspension of Schengen with Spain will remain in force at least until August 15 and will be reviewed only when the government deems “the risks to Italy’s security eliminated.”

Migrants: irregular crossings fall. Only the Spain route rises

Irregular crossings into the EU fell by 37% in the first seven months of 2026 compared with 2025, according to Frontex, which nevertheless excludes the exceptional wave of arrivals in Ceuta between July 30 and 31. The busiest route remains the Eastern Mediterranean with 20,232 arrivals (-28%), followed by the Central Mediterranean to Italy with 16,454 (-55%). Third is the Western Mediterranean route (toward Spain) with 11,217 (+37%), the only one increasing. The route with the most departures remains the one from the EU to the United Kingdom, at 22,469 (-46%). The Canary route also fell sharply (4,682, -60%), as did the Balkan route (4,910, -26%).

The Pope’s appeal for the dignity of migrant minors

The Pope drew the attention of the Church and the world to migrant children, stating that “even one” has absolute value. The message, published on the Vatican website, emphasizes the evangelical duty to welcome every child, noting that new migration dynamics expose the youngest to serious risks to their rights and dignity. This is not a question of numbers: the Church calls for urgent, concrete and humane responses, because every minor involved in migration represents a moral appeal that cannot be ignored.

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