According to official estimates, up to 5,000 migrants who arrived after last week’s border breach remain in the Spanish enclave to date, whilst the EU stands ready to offer support to Madrid following several days of accusations.
As of today, around 73,500 people have already left the North African exclave and returned to Morocco, security forces have stated, whilst local authorities say that up to 5,000 people remain on Spanish territory, including 862 minors. However, the refugee reception system is completely overwhelmed, with 29 centres for minors now operating at almost 3,000% of their capacity, according to Juan Vivas, the president of Ceuta.
The authorities in Ceuta are struggling to cope with the thousands of people remaining in the autonomous city following last week’s mass arrival of migrants. Vivas also stated that between 3,000 and 5,000 migrants had not left the enclave, and that the situation remains tense. He added that between 1,800 and 2,000 illegal migrants swam into the city several days before the mass border crossing. Vivas called for tighter border controls and better coordination of efforts to prevent similar crises in the future.
Concerns in Ceuta have reached such a level that some residents have installed barricades, erecting makeshift fences to restrict access to certain streets. Some residents complained of inappropriate behaviour by migrants, and one claimed he was attacked after refusing to give a migrant a cigarette.
Vivas also spoke of the emotional impact of the crisis on residents, describing the fear, uncertainty and sense of helplessness experienced by some of them. At the weekend, protests against migration took place in the centre of Ceuta.
Ceuta crisis puts migration crisis at the forefront in Europe
The migration chaos has drawn a sharp reaction from numerous European countries. Italy has single-handedly put the Schengen Agreement on hold with regard to Spain, closing its sea and air entry points to those arriving from that country. In addition, on Saturday, 22 EU leaders, in a letter initiated by Denmark and Italy, demanded enhanced controls at external borders and cautioned against Spain’s migration policy.
However, the tone has shifted somewhat, and as early as Tuesday, the 27 member states are expected to hold an emergency meeting to express solidarity with Madrid and focus on how to prevent a recurrence of such incidents. During a meeting of EU ambassadors lasting nearly three hours to prepare for the summit, the Spanish representative set out Madrid’s account of the crisis in Ceuta and accused certain capitals of spreading disinformation.
In response, the ambassadors said that Spain’s policy might easily be exploited by people smugglers and criminal groups to fuel the events in Ceuta. According to one diplomat, the regularisation of one million irregular migrants allowed smugglers to create the impression that the doors were “open.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sent a letter to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday in which she commended Madrid’s efforts to contain the crisis, but also called for increased control at the external borders, closer co-operation, improved early-warning systems, combating smuggling networks and more effective returns of migrants.
The Patriots for Europe group had previously requested a plenary debate on the crisis, but the European People’s Party did not agree. Kinga Gál said that “Europe’s external borders are under immense pressure in Spain. This is a major common European challenge, yet the European Parliament will not even debate it now.”
Initially, Spain and Morocco said that the border breach had been carried out by smuggling networks; however, more precise details lateremerged explaining how migrants were able to breach the border and enter Spanish territory from North Africa. Social media platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, served as the catalyst for hundreds of thousands of Moroccans to head towards Ceuta.
On the Instagram account Haraga Ceuta, migrants came across a video claiming that the border would be opened. This set off a chain reaction, as a TikTok video showed the exact route the swimmers were to follow. Meanwhile, in private Facebook groups such as Fnideq Bab Sebta, users shared screenshots from vessel-tracking platforms to identify times when coastguard patrols appeared to be fewer.
It also became clear that some migrants had misinterpreted recent legislative changes in Spain, including measures to grant legal status to migrants and a court ruling limiting the authorities’ ability to immediately return migrants who had reached Ceuta.
Furthermore, rumours of smuggling that reached the governments were false, as Moroccan migrants who had returned home and were interviewed by the AP largely dismissed such claims, stating that they had left because the border was “open.” Migrants who returned to Morocco told the AP that “no one smuggled” them and that they had travelled to Ceuta of their “own free will,” emphasising that “there are no mafias.”
Migration analyst Gerald Knaus has stressed that “there was a lot of false information along the lines of Spain opening its borders” circulating on social media, adding that “there were invitations issued in different social networks.” He noted that “there also appears to have been no effort by the Moroccan authorities to stop people.”
The Moroccan authorities stated that the wave of migrants was not spontaneous, accusing “the exploitation of digital space” and “the spread of disinformation” of being responsible, whilst the Spanish government made similar statements. Both sides announced that they had launched investigations.
In addition to the reasons that motivated the migrants to cross the border into Spain, the dire situation in the African country stands out. Youth unemployment remains high: 37% of young people aged between 15 and 24 are out of work, whilst among university graduates the unemployment rate is approaching 20%.
Moroccans in Spain account for half of all foreign nationals receiving benefit. The NSSI has registered 139,446 foreign recipients of the allowance, including 69,517 Moroccan nationals.
