The National Court stops the Ceuta port camp and leaves the transfer of 800 migrants in the air

The Audiencia Nacional has provisionally halted this Wednesday the establishment of the migrant camp at the Poniente Dock of the port of Ceuta. The decision leaves in limbo the transfer of the first 800 people from Trampolín beach, planned by the Government for this Thursday.

The Eighth Section of the Contentious-Administrative Chamber thus responded to the appeal filed by the Unified Police Union (SUP) against the resolution of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility that authorized the use of the port land.

The magistrates have requested the department led by Óscar Puente to urgently send the complete file, the authorization, and the rest of the documentation related to the project. The ministerial order cannot be executed while the Chamber decides whether to accept or reject the precautionary measures requested by the union.

The ruling has a limited scope. The Audiencia Nacional still has to study the arguments of the parties and decide whether to maintain the suspension or allow the facility to become operational. Nor has it ruled on the merits of the appeal or declared the chosen location illegal.

The project occupies about 16,000 square meters of port land and is designed to temporarily house about a thousand people. Its opening was intended to relieve pressure on El Trampolín, where thousands of migrants continue to sleep in tents, improvised shacks, and shelters built next to the beach.

The risks reported by the SUP

The police union argues that the Government has not sufficiently justified the choice of the port and demands reports on the compatibility of the camp with the activities carried out in the enclosure. Among its concerns are the risks of fire, evacuation difficulties, and public order disturbances near restricted areas and energy facilities.

The SUP spokesperson, Ana Alarcón, has indicated that the organization has also not received documentation on the protocols planned to protect the accommodated people, port workers, and police officers assigned to the area. The union proposes as an alternative a location away from strategic infrastructures or the temporary use of a hotel ship.

The installation had already caused a strong confrontation between the central Government and the Port Authority. Its Board of Directors rejected the transfer of the land on September 4 by 11 votes to four, but Transportes subsequently decided to enable them, invoking reasons of general interest.

The camp was part of the deployment to remove migrants from makeshift settlements and speed up their identification. The State currently holds 4,160 people in temporary resources, while the Ceuta government estimates that at least 13,000 migrants still remain in the city.

The resolution known this Wednesday comes from the Contentious-Administrative Chamber and is independent of the criminal investigation led by magistrate María Tardón into the massive entry on July 30 and 31. Transportes must now deliver the required file and wait for the National Court to decide whether to lift the provisional brake or keep the camp suspended.