Thousands of migrants from Morocco swarmed a Spanish beach in the North African enclave of Ceuta on Thursday, overwhelming police who attempted to prevent the crossing. The Guardia Civil reported that migrants were 'massively entering from the sea,' prompting the regional government to urgently request Madrid to deploy the army and close the Moroccan border.
Scale of the influx
State television TVE estimated that between 2,000 and 3,000 youths had crossed into Spain by sea, with some reportedly scaling the border fence. Images showed migrants paddling from Morocco to Ceuta using inflatable inner tubes and other flotation devices. Video footage also captured crowds shouting 'Long live Spain' as they rushed onto the territory.
Ceuta's president, Juan Jesus Vivas, stated: 'We are in a situation of total humanitarian and social emergency. In the past few days more than 1,500 migrants, both adults and minors, have come to Ceuta by sea. The reception centres are saturated – there is no more room for anyone in them and according to yesterday’s figures the number of people entering is more than 200 a day.'
Context of Ceuta and Melilla
Ceuta, along with the Spanish city Melilla, represents the European Union's only land border with Africa. Both regions have experienced periodic influxes of migrants attempting to reach Europe. The current rush appears comparable to an event in May 2021, when approximately 10,000 Moroccan and sub-Saharan youths entered the enclave within days.
Legal and political implications
Earlier this month, Spain's Supreme Court ruled that migrants intercepted at sea while trying to reach Ceuta or Melilla cannot be summarily returned under the enclaves' special border-rejection regime. A Guardia Civil spokesperson told Reuters: 'It has been a slow trickle since the Supreme Court’s ruling, but today has been an explosion.'
Spain's Interior Ministry stated it was working closely with Morocco to address the surge, blaming people-smuggling networks for exploiting the Supreme Court's ruling to encourage undocumented migration.
