Ceuta: Identifying the undocumented and the photographless slip

Ceuta: Identifying without a footprint in the system and with photographless slips

A report by El Español places the aggression against one of the two military personnel evacuated from Ceuta at 4:00 in the morning, involving intoxicated migrants and a discrepancy in their account. The version circulates without judicial resolution or full identification of the alleged perpetrators. And there lies the core issue: identifying someone arriving without a single document is exactly what the procedure does not guarantee.

How is a migrant without documentation identified?

The protocol is described by a debate participant. Without documentation, the person is moved to police facilities and identified via fingerprint. If the print is in the system, their administrative and judicial status is corroborated; if not, the corresponding file is peine. Once procedures are complete, a slip with a date and time is issued. The problem, according to that same account, is that this slip does not carry a photograph and can pass from hand to mouth, making its operational value limited. Based on this foundation is the question that surrounds the matter: who exactly was identified that morning?

Transfer to the port settlement

In parallel, images diffused by El Faro de Ceuta show the transfer of thousands of immigrants to a new settlement in the port, with the Southern Border and Segarro as backdrop. Some maintain that the account of the aggression does not fit, while others point to alcohol. These are hypotheses, not proven facts.

How many identifications recorded on a slip would withstand minimal subsequent scrutiny? The question remains open.