Hundreds Return to El Trampolín Hours After Eviction, Forcing Second Clearance

By Thursday afternoon, roughly 500 of the migrants relocated that morning from El Trampolín had drifted back to the beach and rebuilt a makeshift camp of reeds, plastic and cardboard, prompting authorities to schedule a second eviction for Friday, Aug 21. Ceuta president Juan Vivas said 'moving them from Trampolín to other places in Ceuta does not show a willingness to solve the problem,' while local media reported the city government would suspend beach-cleaning operations if migrants kept returning, since crews' safety could not be guaranteed. Social workers said Moroccan migrants mainly returned out of fear that transfer to the new centres was a first step toward deportation, while sub-Saharan African migrants cited a lack of available reception spots. Migration Minister Elma Saiz said the government aims to expand reception capacity to roughly 4,000 places via four additional sites (Loma Colmenar, La Hípica, the old Cavalry barracks football pitch, and the Guano site).