Officials in the Spanish territory of Ceuta have called on the national government in Madrid to declare a state of national emergency as what appeared to be tens of thousands of Moroccan migrants crossed the border illegally on Thursday.
Footage shared widely on social media showed crowds thousands strong breaching the border with Ceuta, which is located on the North African coast and is bordered by Morocco. The migrants – the vast majority of whom appeared to be young men – overwhelmed the Spanish police at the Tarajal breakwater, entering the country on foot and by sea.
Locals Demand Urgent Response
Local officials, led by Mayor-President Juan Jesus Vivas, issued a statement requesting the declaration of a national emergency in light of the rapidly escalating situation, as well as the deployment of the military.
These measures were required, according to Vivas, to ensure the “inviolability of the border and public safety”. He also requested the closure of the border with Morocco.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said that his government was “fully committed” to providing an “immediate” response to the surging migration into Ceuta.
“We are mobilizing all necessary resources, working with Moroccan and international authorities and preparing the necessary measures to restore normalcy as soon as possible”, Sánchez said, adding that he had informed Vivas of the steps being taken.
“This is the moment to build solutions, with responsibility and cooperation”, the Spanish prime minister said.
However, the country’s Interior Ministry rejected the enclave’s calls for a national emergency, saying that the measure is not intended to address migration crises. It nevertheless committed to guaranteeing the security of the people of Ceuta and to the deployment of personnel and resources to the territory.
The Spanish Armed Forces subsequently announced that 60 military personnel would be sent to the enclave to reinforce the police.
Today’s surge in illegal border crossings comes after a week of heightened migration from Morocco, which had already prompted local authorities to describe the situation as an emergency.
Prior to today’s influx, an estimated 1,500 migrants had arrived in recent days, with Vivas stating at that point that the city was facing an “absolute humanitarian and social emergency”.
Spanish opposition leaders have seized on the scenes emerging from Ceuta to go on the offensive against Sánchez and his government, which is widely perceived as being weak on border security and migration.
Vox leader Santiago Abascal said in a post on social media that those crossing the border were not “fleeing from any war or poverty”.
“It's an invasion. They are men of military age called by Pedro Sánchez's corrupt government to storm our borders so they can then roam the streets of Spain shouting ‘Viva Pedro Sánchez’”, Abascal wrote on X.
Meanwhile, President of the People’s Party Alberto Núñez Feijóo said that the situation in Ceuta was “desperate” and that the government could not afford to look the other way because it constituted a “national security crisis”.
“All support to @JuanVivasLara and to the autonomous city, which unanimously and with every reason demands that the emergency be recognized and control of our borders be immediately restored”, Feijóo said.
An Open-Arms Approach to Migration
The Spanish government has already faced both internal and external criticism this year for its handling of migration. The Sánchez government oversaw a large-scale migrant regularization program in May and June that quickly swelled beyond the state’s projections.
Senior officials within the National Police’s immigration branch estimated that once family reunification was factored in, the program could see as many as three million migrants obtaining legal status – far beyond the original estimation of 500,000.
In terms of direct applications, officials expressed the belief that the final number would be between 1.2 million and 1.3 million applications for regularization.
Politicians in countries bordering Spain and beyond expressed dismay at the country’s actions, citing fears that unvetted migrants would be free to travel across the European Union.
In neighboring France, President of the National Rally Jordan Bardella responded to Spain’s amnesty plans by saying that the Spanish government was enabling migrants to “travel freely in France and even settle there, drawn by the generosity of our social system”, which he said was “open without conditions”.
“This unacceptable and cynical decision must lead, in a first step, to suspending Schengen, and, over the longer term, to reserving freedom of movement exclusively for European citizens”, Bardella said.
Similarly, the vice president of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, Swedish MEP Charlie Weimers, issued a call at the time to “shut Spain out of Schengen”.
Sánchez described the mass regularization as an “act of justice and a necessity”, saying that greenlighting the scheme made him “proud to be Spanish”.
