Trump Warns America Will Face a Ceuta-Like Surge of Migrants If Republicans Are Not in Power

President Trump says the influx of tens of thousands of migrants at Ceuta foreshadows what America’s border with Mexico will look like if voters cast their ballots for Democrats, as Italy says it is closing its border with Spain due to security concerns. On Friday, Spain’s government said 60,000 migrants — mostly Algerian and Moroccan individuals — crossed into the autonomous city of Ceuta from Morocco over the last 24 hours. Videos of thousands of migrants climbing out of the sea and onto Ceuta’s territory went viral on Thursday as local leaders called the situation an emergency. Spain deployed its military in response to the situation. It was not entirely clear what led to the explosion of migrants swimming from Morocco to Ceuta, which sits on the African country’s northern border.The crisis received international attention as politicians in Europe and America blamed the situation on Spain’s recent amnesty program and after the Supreme Court ruled that migrants who arrive by sea cannot be immediately deported.During a Cabinet meeting on Friday morning, Mr. Trump said, “I watched the catastrophe that took place. It looks like an invasion of a country by hundreds of thousands of people. And that same thing is going to happen to us if the Republicans don’t get elected.”“If we’re not in office, our country will be invaded at levels that made Spain look small time,” Mr. Trump said. “It’s just invading the country. And what that is weak law, bad management, but very liberal law. They passed a couple of laws and people read, you know, people are smart. They read from other countries, and they swam that three-mile swim or however they got in.”While Spanish officials grappled with the crisis, Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said on X that her country is temporarily suspending its free movement agreement with Spain, and reintroducing border controls.“This is an extraordinary measure, adopted to safeguard national security and prevent possible repercussions for our Nation. The measure will be kept in force only for the time necessary, with particular attention to limiting any impact on summer tourist flows,” Ms. Meloni said. The French interior minister, Laurent Nunez, said France will increase its border checks with Spain. Meanwhile, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a statement on X that the “images coming from Ceuta are unacceptable.”“We cannot allow anyone to come to our Union without abiding by our rules,” she said. “Dangerous crossings must stop immediately. Smuggling networks must be dismantled. And returns must be swift, as our rules allow.”Spain’s socialist prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, denounced the influx of migrants, calling it an “attack on Spain’s territorial integrity.” He said that the situation “deserves our most resounding and energetic condemnation.”The number of migrants who crossed the border is equivalent to about 70 percent of the population of Ceuta. Spanish officials say roughly half of the migrants have already been returned to Morocco. Officials said at least 40 migrants have died. The migrants will have to be processed before they can make it to mainland Spain. If they are allowed to make it to the continent, they would be able to travel freely throughout much of Western Europe. The crisis has also prompted criticism of Spain’s immigration policies. On July 8, Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that officials may not immediately deport migrants if they arrived by sea — though migrants who arrive by land are not afforded the same treatment. That ruling came after Spain carried out one of the largest amnesty programs in history, with more than 1 million illegal immigrants applying for legal status.Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, posted on X that he is in favor of “closing the Schengen Area to Spain,” saying that “irregular and uncontrolled immigration poses a danger to national security.” Mr. Tajani said that Spain’s amnesty is “profoundly wrong and encourages human trafficking.”A conservative Spanish politician, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, wrote on X, “Sánchez allows Spain to be invaded through Ceuta.”While Spanish officials criticized the surge, they also pushed back on the notion that the amnesty program was responsible for the tens of thousands of people swimming to Ceuta. In a statement, the Spanish government insisted that the situation “has nothing to do with the regularization of migrants.”Mr. Sanchez said that human trafficking networks were behind the surge, saying that they “deceive so many young people, and ultimately lead many of them to their deaths — whether in the ocean or, as in this case, at Spain’s border in the autonomous city of Ceuta.” The prime minister suggested that the Supreme Court’s ruling is partially responsible for the crisis. He said a “misinterpretation” of the July 8 ruling “spread like wildfire.”Another Spanish city in North Africa, Melilla, has seen migrants attempting to cross the border, though the numbers were much lower than at Ceuta.

Trump Warns America Will Face a Ceuta-Like Surge of Migrants If Republicans Are Not in Power

Trump Warns America Will Face a Ceuta-Like Surge of Migrants If Republicans Are Not in Power

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