The Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts, Félix Bolaños, has launched a message of "calm" and "confidence in the State" in the face of the migratory crisis in Ceuta, emphasizing that the "priority" of the Government is to "process the return" to their countries of origin of the people who entered the autonomous city on July 30 and 31. He has also announced that judicial resources will be reinforced as soon as the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) formulates the "formal request".
Bolaños intervened this Thursday in the Joint Commission of National Security in the Congress of Deputies, convened to analyze the consequences of the massive entry of migrants from Morocco to Ceuta. At the beginning of his appearance, he acknowledged "the political and social dimension of the events" and described them as "an indisputably serious fact," accompanying these words with a call for "calm" and "confidence in the State".
"We are working tirelessly," the minister assured, emphasizing that the Council of Ministers is "committed" and that "this is the moment when the State is most present in Ceuta." In this context, he defended the designation of the Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, "as responsible for the 'single command' to manage the migratory crisis in Ceuta, with the aim of reinforcing coordination among the various authorities and administrations involved." He highlighted that Torres "is a person with well-known experience in management and in migratory crises. And, by the way, with success," valuing his "negotiating spirit" and his "institutional collaboration".
For Bolaños, "the priority now is to locate, assist, and begin the processes of repatriation, family reunification, or asylum for the people who remain irregularly in Ceuta," which implies "reinforcing justice to process the return of migrants to their countries of origin." He specified that it is a "complex procedure" that must be developed "in accordance with the law," respecting "certain guarantees" that prevent "doing it immediately." He recalled that in the 2021 crisis in Ceuta, returns were carried out "that were not done in accordance with the law," for which the Government delegate and the vice president of the city were convicted of malfeasance.
Judicial reinforcements and response from the Ministry
In relation to the reinforcement of the Administration of Justice, it has guaranteed that the Ministry will finance and authorize "immediately" the additional resources requested by the CGPJ and the Superior Court of Justice of Andalusia, and has indicated that it expects to receive that request "this week." It has explained that the "official formal request for reinforcements" has not yet arrived, but has promised that "as soon as we receive it, within hours, the Ministry of Justice will approve the corresponding budget allocation and we will reinforce the Court of Instance of Ceuta in order to process more swiftly."
In parallel, it has detailed that the department has already increased "what does depend" on its competencies, "such as civil service personnel, the directors of the Administration of Justice, the managers, the processors, the civil service personnel for judicial assistance." The Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of Ceuta has also been reinforced, which "has conducted 82 autopsies, 62 burials, and nine identifications." "We have also authorized the reinforcement of the Prosecutor's Office, very important in all proceedings, especially those affecting minors," it has added.
Bolaños has assessed that the reinforcement "has been forceful and immediate" thanks to the "accumulated experience." "We know that from previous occasions that these situations need a reinforcement also in matters of justice and that is why we wanted to anticipate," he has concluded.
Recovering normality in Ceuta
As a second major line of action, the minister has placed "ensuring the complete functioning of the city and its prompt recovery," both "economic and social." He has indicated that in these days "there has been a 4.2% increase in judicial proceedings" in Ceuta and has admitted that "there is still no situation of normality in Ceuta." "Of course, the situation is not normal. It is worse, it is a bad figure, hopefully it had not increased, hopefully it had decreased," he has lamented.
Addressing the citizens of Ceuta, he has assured "that the Government of Spain will put all the means necessary to recover normality as soon as possible." "We are going to work to resolve a complex, difficult crisis, but we are going to do it so that the people of Ceuta recover normality as soon as possible," he has insisted.
Political clash with PP and Vox
In the political sphere, Bolaños has reproached the PP for assuming "the discourse of Vox completely" and has maintained that the right "uses some words, some expressions that are really typical of the far right."
He has criticized the proposals of Vox by considering that "they are discourses against coexistence," thus responding to the intervention of Pepa Millán, spokesperson for the formation in Congress. "There is no army that has invaded Ceuta, none, it is a falsehood, Mrs. Millán, a falsehood," the minister replied to the deputy, who had described the events as "invasion." Bolaños has demanded that, "if you deem it appropriate, rectify this."
Likewise, he has emphasized that "it is not very patriotic to wrap oneself in the flag of Spain in Ceuta, but to deny Ceuta that the rest of the autonomous communities can collaborate in the normalization of this city." "It is not patriotic at all. We are also a social state and this means that we do not leave anyone by the wayside, it means that we respect the dignity of all the people who are in our territory," he has pointed out.
The Minister of Justice has warned that the dignity and basic needs of those who are in Spain must be respected, regardless of their nationality or "the color of skin they have": "For us, security, respect for the border, solidarity, and democracy are not antagonistic concepts, but complementary, all of them can be defended," he has argued.
The rumors that triggered the crisis
Finally, Bolaños has reiterated that it was "two rumors resulting from the distortion of a ruling by the Supreme Court" that "provoked, among other circumstances, the massive entry of people into Ceuta on July 30 and 31." As he explained, "that distortion that occurred gave rise to two rumors that spread very widely on social networks. The first of the rumors is that the border was open, the second is that if you enter by swimming into Spain, they could not return you."
He has recalled that, at the end of June, the Supreme Court established that migrants who reached Ceuta or Melilla by swimming should be subject to the ordinary return procedure and not the border rejection procedure, although he pointed out that "nothing would prevent" resorting to the so-called hot returns in case "containment elements in the sea to protect the border line" were implemented.