Almost a month after the massive entry on July 30 and 31, Spain still does not have a single census of the people who remain in Ceuta. The figures released by different administrations range between several thousand and around 8,000, depending on the date, the source, and which population is being counted.
The last relevant reference came this Tuesday from Congress.
The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, stated that 90% of the nearly 80,000 people who entered had returned to Morocco by August 1, which leaves around 10%, that is, approximately 8,000 people, who would still be in Ceuta.
Vivas placed the number of migrants remaining in the city on August 8 between 8,000 and 11,000. Five days later, Marlaska lowered the estimate to about 5,000.
Brussels was more cautious: on August 18, it directly acknowledged that "the exact number is not clear" and spoke of "several thousand."
This Tuesday, the European Commission has again used that expression and stated that "significant challenges" persist due to the several thousand people who remain in the city.
Why they do not match
Not all the figures are measuring exactly the same thing.
There are people identified by the Police, others with open return files, asylum seekers, unaccompanied minors, people housed in temporary resources, and migrants who continue to stay outside the official network.
In addition, there is the movement of people who have been returning to Morocco during these weeks.
Minister Elma Saiz acknowledged over the weekend that there is still no definitive global figure and explained that each person must be identified and have an individual file.
The minors are a different count
The Interior has already identified 2,500 minors, but that figure does not necessarily equate to the number of minors currently remaining in Ceuta.
Part is incorporated into protection resources, another remains outside the system, and the Government is preparing different avenues for transfer, reunification, or eventual repatriation.
That is why the different data published about adults and minors cannot simply be added together.
More reception places
The Government has been enabling temporary resources to reduce improvised settlements.
At the end of last week, work was being done on new spaces for approximately 1,800 people, while thousands still remained outside stable facilities.
The capacity of resources and their occupation varies as transfers are made, so any map must be updated with official data and avoid identifying sensitive spaces used for minors.
The returns are progressing more slowly
Another element that conditions the final number is the files.
Vivas estimated on August 20 at between 25 and 30 a day the return files that the National Police was resolving and considered that pace insufficient.
The Executive announced later reinforcements and this Tuesday has established a single command to coordinate the response to the crisis.
As long as the files remain open and there is no new consolidated count, talking about an exact number of migrants in Ceuta would be premature.