Thousands of Migrants Swarm Spain’s North African Territory, Overwhelming Police and Shelters

Thousands of migrants are flocking to an autonomous Spanish enclave in North Africa, Ceuta, overwhelming police forces and local resources. Leaders of Ceuta — which borders Morocco — said on Thursday that roughly 1,500 migrants have arrived in the city by swimming from Morocco. The wave of migrants comes after the Spanish government carried out one of the largest amnesty programs in history, which saw more than 1 million illegal immigrants apply for legal status.Spain’s Supreme Court ruled on July 8 that the government cannot summarily deport migrants who arrive by sea. Under the ruling, migrants who try to cross into Ceuta by land do not get the same treatment, which appears to have prompted the flood of people swimming to Spanish territory.Migrants will have to be processed by immigration officials before receiving authorization to the Spanish mainland. Once they receive legal status, they are able to freely travel throughout the 29 European countries that make up the Schengen Area. Spain’s national law enforcement agency, Guardia Civil, said migrants are “massively entering from the sea” and overwhelming police forces. The Guardia Civil said there had been a “slow trickle” of migrants after the Supreme Court ruling, but that the number of arrivals seen an “explosion” ver the past week.Spanish officials are blaming the surge, which began around July 28, on human smuggling networks, which they say are exploiting the Supreme Court’s ruling and encouraging young people to enter Ceuta. The head of the Ceuta regional government, Juan Jesus Vivas, urged the Spanish government to declare a national emergency and deploy the army to the Moroccan border to help curb the crossings. In a post on Instagram on Thursday, Mr. Vivas said, “Yesterday, I spoke out to warn of the extreme gravity of the migration crisis we are enduring. Today, mere hours later, the situation is even more critical.”“Another night of mass arrivals, nearly a thousand people waiting outside the [Temporary Migrant Reception Center], our resources completely overwhelmed, and another life lost at sea,” Mr. Vivas said. “We cannot face this pressure alone — pressure that has resulted in the arrival of between 1,500 and 2,000 people in just 10 days, equivalent to 2 percent of our population.”Videos on social media appeared to show thousands of migrants clambering onto Ceuta’s shores from the sea. Another video appeared to show migrants rushing through a border fence near the sea into the city. Spain’s interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, told a Spanish television station, laSexta, that local authorities were facing an “extraordinary, exceptional situation.”“We are dealing with it with the means that we already have deployed there permanently,” Mr. Grande-Marlaska said. The Interior Ministry said that illegal immigrants would be deported and claimed that smuggling networks were exploiting the recent Supreme Court decision. Mr. Grande-Marlaska added that Moroccan authorities were cooperating with Spain and working to limit “irregular departures.” Spain’s socialist prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, said on X that the government is “fully committed to providing an immediate response to the situation in 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,” Mr. Sanchez wrote. Spain’s opposition leader, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, said in a video post on X, “The situation in Ceuta is desperate. The government cannot look the other way … because we are facing a national security crisis.”In 2021, Ceuta saw more than 8,000 migrants enter the enclave in just two days.The current surge has sparked frustration among members of the European Parliament. A center-right party, the European People’s Party Group, shared videos of the situation at Ceuta on X and wrote, “Uncontrolled borders demand immediate action. The EU Migration Pact and the Return Regulation can’t wait. We urge Spain to act NOW to secure our external borders and the European Commission to take appropriate action.”The leader of the European Parliament delegation from Spain’s conservative party, Vox, Jorge Buxade, called Mr. Sanchez a “traitor” and said there “will be trials” over the surge in migrants. The European Migration Pact, which took effect earlier this year, imposed new security checks and allows for EU member states to quickly deport migrants who are denied asylum. Those measures were approved in an attempt to prevent a repeat of the 2015 migration crisis when roughly 1 million migrants from the Middle East and Africa entered Europe.Spain’s amnesty program drew the ire of some European leaders, such as Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni. During a June meeting of European leaders, Ms. Meloni criticized the amnesty plan, saying that what Spain does “affects its neighbors.”

Thousands of Migrants Swarm Spain’s North African Territory, Overwhelming Police and Shelters

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