The British network Sky News reported on Tuesday, citing “police sources” in Spain, that about 75 migrants who had joined the illegal mass invasion of Ceuta had reached the mainland of the country, contradicting assurances by the socialist government that this was not the case.
Ceuta, a Spanish territory on the African continent that borders Morocco, was subject to an invasion of tens of thousands of mostly male, North African migrants on July 30, who swam around the coast that connects Morocco to Ceuta and touched ground as quickly as possible. The migrants were responding to a judicial decision that month that declared the Spanish government could not immediately deport migrants if they reach Spanish territory by land, instead requiring an extended legal process before removal.
The invasion overwhelmed Ceuta’s law enforcement system, as well as its center for migrant processing and almost all public facilities. Estimates of the total number of migrants entering the small territory range from 60,000 to 80,000 in one day; Ceuta is typically home to about 80,000 residents.
The government of socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez insisted in the days following the event that it had successfully removed most of the migrant invaders and that the government of Morocco was cooperating in receiving them. Rabat is reportedly demanding that Spain prioritize the return of children, mostly boys estimated to be in the thousands, who crossed with the mob.
Thousands of Illegal Migrants from Morocco Flood into Spanish Territory
The local government of Ceuta has repeatedly denounced, however, that officials in Madrid are wrong and the city is still attempting to address the presence of thousands of migrants wandering the streets and building makeshift homes on beaches and woods in the outskirts of town. Juan Jesús Vivas, the president/mayor of Ceuta, has repeatedly complained the federal government was “not up to par” in its response to the crisis and had abandoned the town to an “unsustainable” situation.
The problem appears to be spreading outside of Spain’s African territories, according to Sky News. Citing police sources on the mainland, the outlet reported that dozens of those arriving in Ceuta on July 31 were now present on the Iberian peninsula.
“Spanish sources in Andalucía said that around 75 migrants out of the estimated 72,000 who entered Ceuta illegally in a mass rush to the border at the end of July had reached the mainland,” Sky News reported. Andalucía is the southernmost region of mainland Spain, whose peak nearly touches Africa.
“Police sources told Sky News that the crossings were a ‘worrying reactivation’ of the Gibraltar Strait migration route – where boats usually approach the Spanish coast and leave migrants near the shore, forcing them to swim to reach land and then escape authorities,” the report continued.
The sources said the migrants had begun navigating north towards Spain on small boats, only some of which were successfully intercepted.
The Sánchez government is openly denying that a single migrant of the tens of thousands who invaded Ceuta had entered any other part of Spain.
“Nobody has left the city towards the peninsula, nor can they do so,” Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said on Tuesday while visiting Ceuta and visiting with President Vivas for an update on the situation.
Albares has been at the forefront of a Spanish government initiative to blame the crisis in Ceuta on conservatives around the world – what he refers to as “international reactionary forces” – for allegedly amplifying the horrific scenes of the invasion by sharing them online. In an interview last week with Spain’s national broadcaster RTVE, he insisted that the migrant issue was not as troublesome as it seemed in reports and that his government had been the victim of an alleged “synchronization of international reactionary forces which rapidly came out to amplify what is happening and also to spread lies and fake news about the Schengen zone.” The Schengen zone is the area of the European Union in which nationals do not need passports to cross borders; some European Union countries have called for suspending Schengen privileges in the wake of the Ceuta migrant crisis.
Albares used his time in Ceuta to insist that “up to the last person who entered irregularly into Spain will return to Morocco” and to discourage foreigners from attempting to enter Ceuta by sea.
“Don’t risk your lives, your money, and your future in an adventure doomed to failure, as those who enter Ceuta or Melilla irregularly will be returned,” he promised.
The Spanish newspaper El País observed that, while Albares insisted they would be deported, he had not given any concrete explanation for exactly when or how that would occur. Asked about the issue on Tuesday, he responded, “obviously, there are judicial sentences and there is Spanish legislation, but the will is that Ceuta recover its normality as soon as possible, that all minors return as soon as possible.”
An infuriated Vivas has repeatedly expressed that Ceuta did not receive enough federal military support to protect itself from the migrant wave, describing the situation as an “invasion” that required an intense response.
“Ceuta has suffered and continues to suffer an invasion,” he affirmed on Tuesday. “We calculate that 10,000 immigrants are still in Ceuta and this creates an unsustainable situation.”
“The reaction of the government has not been on par with the demands of what occurred,” he objected. “A violation of the territorial integrity of Spain has occurred. There should have been a proportional reaction to such a grave occurrence as what has happened.”
El Pais noted in its report on Albares visiting Ceuta that the Sánchez government claims 70,000 people invaded Ceuta on July 30 and 7,000 had already been deported, a figure incompatible with any local estimates. The Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported on Monday that local officials estimate 11,000 migrants remain in the streets of Ceuta of the 80,000 who invaded.
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