Thousands of migrants cross from Morocco into Spain’s Ceuta enclave

Thousands of migrants crossed overnight from Morocco into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta, a police source said on Friday, as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was set to arrive to manage the latest migrant crisis at the border.

In recent days, about 40,000 migrants have crossed into the territory, which has a population of 80,000, the source added.

The sudden and massive influx has sparked a crisis for Spain’s government and prompted France to announce tighter checks along its border with Spain.

Madrid has deployed troops to bolster security in Ceuta. Sánchez and his interior minister were due to visit the enclave’s Tarajal border crossing on Friday, the government said.

AFP reporters saw hundreds of people — men, women and children — entering Ceuta by swimming around a border barrier with Morocco to reach the Spanish enclave, discarding the flotation rings and clothes used during the risky crossing.

So far, 18 people have died while attempting to reach the Spanish enclave, the police source said.

“There was a steady stream of people all night long,” the source said, adding that migrants “continued to arrive overnight and are still arriving” early on Friday.

It was not immediately clear what had prompted the recent surge in migrants crossing from Morocco.

In 2021, thousands crossed into Ceuta after Rabat loosened border controls during a diplomatic dispute with Spain.

The surge in migrant arrivals was already causing diplomatic fallout.

Italy on Thursday called for Spain to be suspended from Europe’s border-free Schengen Area, prompting Spain to summon Italy’s ambassador and accuse Rome of exploiting the crisis for political gain.

Two senior officials in US President Donald Trump’s White House also reiterated their anti-immigration stance on Thursday using footage from Ceuta.

– ‘Bye Morocco’ –

Ceuta, a territory covering 18.5 square kilometres, and the nearby enclave of Melilla are Europe’s only two land borders with Africa.

Ebullient migrants were seen walking through the streets of Ceuta on Thursday, thanking the Spanish police and shouting: “Bye-bye Morocco, hello Spain.”

Police officers and members of the Civil Guard in Ceuta appeared to do little to intervene, although some officers attempted to direct the new arrivals to the local migrant reception centre.

Moroccan authorities had not issued an official statement on the flow of migrants, but an unnamed Moroccan official told AFP that the two countries had discussed the matter.

In 2021, more than 10,000 migrants reached Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco over two days, taking advantage of the loosening of border controls by Rabat during a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

The dispute erupted after Spain decided to host the leader of the Sahrawi independence movement, the Polisario Front, for medical treatment.

Polisario guerrillas fought a long war with Morocco over the independence of the Western Sahara region. Morocco’s neighbour, Algeria, supported the Polisario Front.

The diplomatic crisis ended in 2022 when Madrid reversed its long-standing policy of neutrality and backed Morocco’s plan for Western Sahara — a move that caused a diplomatic rift between Madrid and Algiers.

Sánchez visited Algiers on July 20, marking the first visit by a Spanish head of government to the country in four years and signalling a thaw in relations with Algeria.