Ceuta already records a 191% increase in entries… excluding the 72,000 crossings in July

The paradox is laid out in black and white in the latest report from Spain’s Interior Ministry. Between January 1 and August 15, Madrid recorded 5013 irregular entries into Ceuta by land, compared with 1722 over the same period in 2025.

The increase therefore stands at 191.1%, or 3291 additional people. But a note beneath the figures specifies that Ceuta’s data “do not include the figures for July 30 and 31, which require a specific analysis.”

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Yet these are precisely the two days that upended the situation. Spain’s Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, subsequently estimated the number of people who entered Ceuta during the crisis at 72,000. More than 70,000 quickly left the city. Bladi notably recounted the journey of those who remained stranded in the enclave after this mass arrival.

72,000 crossings still excluded from the official tally

This is not a temporary omission limited to the first count. The previous report, covering the period through July 31, had already excluded July 30 and 31, using exactly the same justification. Two weeks later, the 72,000 crossings have still not been reintegrated into the regular statistical series.

The consequence is striking. The official tally presents a Spain where irregular immigration has declined by 9.4% since the beginning of the year, with 19 972 arrivals compared with 22 040 in 2025. This total is calculated using the same scope that leaves Ceuta’s exceptional event out of account.

Migration routes have nevertheless shifted profoundly. In the Canary Islands, sea arrivals have fallen to 4808 people, compared with 11 883 a year earlier, a decrease of 59.5%. In Ceuta, by contrast, recorded land entries have already surged by 191.1%, even before the July crisis is incorporated.

On Bladi.net : article 123220

The official figure of 5013 is therefore accurate, but it tells only one very specific part of Ceuta’s 2026. As long as Madrid keeps July 30 and 31 in a category requiring a “specific analysis,” the largest migratory movement recorded this year in the enclave will remain absent from its main statistical barometer.