Spain Declares Migration Emergency After 1,500 Arrivals

Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta has declared a humanitarian and security emergency after about 1,500 migrants crossed from Morocco by swimming in the past week, overwhelming local reception facilities.

Ceuta leader Juan Jesus Vivas said on Thursday that the sudden increase in arrivals had left hundreds of migrants sleeping outside and placed pressure on services, especially facilities for unaccompanied minors.

“We are facing a situation of absolute humanitarian and social emergency,” Vivas told Spanish radio station Cadena SER, adding that centres for unaccompanied minors were operating at 2,400 percent capacity.

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Speaking to another radio station, Onda Cero, Vivas described the situation as a national emergency and called for a “decisive, forceful, immediate and coordinated” response under a single command structure.

Ceuta, along with Melilla, is one of Spain’s two autonomous cities in North Africa and the European Union’s only land border with Africa.

The territories frequently experience migration surges from people trying to enter Europe.

Vivas said arrivals are currently averaging around 300 people daily, warning that the situation could become similar to the May 2021 migration crisis when about 10,000 migrants entered Ceuta within days.

Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska. Credit: The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle – The Times of Israel.

Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska is expected to visit Ceuta on Friday to meet local authorities and security officials as the government works with several ministries to strengthen border control and provide humanitarian support.

Vivas also raised concerns over the dangers faced by migrants attempting the journey, saying 60 bodies had been recovered at sea in recent months.

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He called for stronger migration controls, arguing that better regulation could help prevent further deaths.

Spain’s Interior Ministry said Moroccan security forces were assisting efforts to reduce the number of arrivals from Morocco.

The Ceuta leader also called for changes to Spain’s immigration laws after a recent Supreme Court ruling stated that migrants intercepted at sea while trying to reach Ceuta or Melilla cannot be immediately returned under the territories’ special border rules.

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