Ceuta Rejects Becoming Permanent 'Macrocentro' for Migrants, Warns of Pull-Factor Effect

Alfonso Conejo, Ceuta's director general of Governance, rejected the Spanish government's plan to build two EU-funded Temporary Attention Centers for Foreigners (CATE) in the city, saying 'Ceuta is Spain and a Spanish city cannot become a macrocentro de estancia temporal' and warning that permanent large-scale reception facilities would not be viable and would produce a kind of 'efecto llamada' (pull effect) attracting more migrants rather than deterring them. Conejo instead demanded a serious EU-level return policy, modern 21st-century border infrastructure, and faster deployment of state resources including Civil Guard and administrative personnel. More than 72,000 people entered Ceuta from Morocco in the July 30-31 crossing, and the city has not recovered normalcy nearly two months on.