Spain has returned more than 48,000 migrants to Morocco after tens of thousands of people entered Ceuta in an unprecedented surge, according to the country’s Ministry of the Interior.
The ministry said approximately 50,000 people had crossed into the Spanish enclave since Thursday morning. By 6pm on Friday, an estimated 48,300 had been sent back across the Moroccan border.
Ceuta’s president, Juan Jesús Vivas, earlier estimated that as many as 60,000 migrants had entered the territory. He said at least 34 people had died, including several who drowned while attempting to swim around the border barriers.
However, a Spanish government representative in Ceuta placed the death toll at 57.
Most of those attempting to enter Ceuta were Moroccan nationals. The small Spanish territory is situated on Morocco’s Mediterranean coastline and is separated from the country by border fences and seawalls.
Together with Melilla, another Spanish enclave farther east, Ceuta forms the European Union’s only land frontier with Africa.
Local authorities have attributed the sudden rise in crossings partly to a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling that makes it more difficult to immediately return migrants arriving from Morocco by sea.
Vivas described the situation as “absolutely unsustainable.” He also accused the Spanish government of failing to respond quickly enough, saying that “action was taken too late and insufficiently.”
Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said “all of Spain stands” with Ceuta. He described the mass crossings as “an attack” and “a violation of Spain’s territorial integrity.”
“Ceuta is a Spanish city, and what happened yesterday deserves our full reproach, our condemnation at the strongest possible level of rejection, condemnation and consideration as deplorable,” he said.
Videos and photographs from Ceuta showed crowds, mainly composed of Moroccan nationals, walking around coastal breakwaters near an urban beach and entering local roads close to a border checkpoint.
Most appeared to be young men, although women, children and entire families were also among those who crossed.
The Spanish government has deployed the army and reinforced security operations in Ceuta. Additional personnel include diving teams, Maritime Service vessels and other emergency units.
Sánchez said he had also ordered the installation of buoys to create a “physical barrier” in the water and confirmed that troop numbers had been increased.
The prime minister said lawmakers were completing a system intended to “facilitate the repatriation of migrants who entered our country irregularly.”
He added that the government could “modify certain aspects of the laws to guarantee those border repatriations as efficiently as possible” if further changes proved necessary.
Sánchez said Moroccan authorities were cooperating with Spain and accused organised smuggling networks of taking advantage of the Supreme Court ruling to encourage irregular migration.
“This demands one of the strongest condemnations, particularly of the human trafficking mafias that deceive many young people, many of whom find death, whether in the ocean or at this border,” he said.
Social Media Posts Encourage Crossings
Several Moroccan migrants said that they had seen social media posts declaring that “Spain is an open door,” accompanied by videos showing people swimming from Morocco into Ceuta.
One young man said some of the posts specifically referred to the recent Supreme Court decision.
Many of those arriving appeared to be Moroccan males between the ages of 14 and 25. Most said they had crossed in search of employment, higher incomes or new opportunities.
One man said he hoped to pursue a football career in Europe, while another said he had entered simply to see what Europe was like for a day. He acknowledged, however, that he would now have to return to Morocco.
Several migrants said they had not planned their journeys in advance. Instead, they made spontaneous decisions to swim toward Ceuta after seeing others successfully cross.
Although Sánchez and other officials have connected the surge to the Supreme Court ruling, it remained unclear whether the decision was the principal cause of the sudden influx.
Limited Access to Mainland Europe
Ceuta is frequently viewed as an entry point for people seeking to reach Spain from Africa. However, crossing from Morocco into the enclave does not automatically provide unrestricted access to mainland Europe.
Migrants wishing to cross the channel between northern Africa and continental Europe must undergo further border checks.
Ceuta’s geographical separation from mainland Spain, combined with limited transport connections to the rest of the European Union, also makes onward travel difficult.
Both Ceuta and Melilla are heavily fortified. Many migrants who enter the territories are quickly returned, while others are transferred to reception centres as authorities review their cases.
Those who remain may be permitted to submit applications for asylum in Spain.
Despite their location, the number of migrant arrivals in Ceuta and Melilla is normally considerably lower than in other Spanish territories, including the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands.
Ceuta has a mixed population of Spanish and Moroccan residents, as well as Moroccan workers who regularly cross the border for employment.
Morocco does not formally recognise Ceuta or Melilla as Spanish territory and has often referred to the two enclaves as occupied lands.
The latest influx is not the first time Ceuta has experienced a sudden rise in arrivals from Morocco.
In 2021, Moroccan authorities loosened border enforcement during a diplomatic dispute with Spain, allowing approximately 6,000 migrants to enter Ceuta in a single day.
