@pollar.news: About 50,000 people crossed from Morocco into Ceuta over two days, according to Spain’s Interior Ministry. By Friday evening, the ministry said 48,300 had voluntarily returned. Ceuta’s president gave a higher arrival estimate of 60,000. These were changing estimates, not a verified count of who remained. By Saturday, the Spanish government put the death toll at 67. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said smugglers had deliberately distorted a Supreme Court ruling. The ruling did not grant residency. It said swimmers intercepted at sea could not be processed under the special border-rejection rule; the ordinary return procedure applied instead. The court said the special rule could apply if physical containment structures were installed at sea. On Saturday, Spain began installing a 500-metre floating barrier. A human-rights activist told AP that misinformation and social-media posts had contributed to the crossings. The precise trigger remained unclear. Claims that the new arrivals could benefit from Spain’s extraordinary regularisation programme were false. Applicants had to be in Spain before January 1, 2026, prove five months of continuous presence and apply by June 30. An AP photographer saw Moroccan gendarmes standing aside on Thursday as thousands passed. On Friday, Moroccan forces used tear gas, batons and water cannons to disperse crowds. Neither observation establishes deliberate state intent. The arrival and return figures do not track the same fixed group. They describe an evolving snapshot and do not establish a single cause for the surge. Sources: Spain’s Interior Ministry figures reported by AP; Supreme Court judgment 814/2026; Real Decreto 316/2026 in the BOE; AP reporting and Fact Focus. Mario Sánchez Bueno - Flickr: Ceuta desde el mirador de Isabel II (29 imágenes), CC BY-SA 2.0 #Ceuta #Spain #Migration #FactCheck #DataJournalism

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Saturday 01 August 2026 11:25:17 GMT