The sea off Ceuta, one of two Spanish cities on the coast of Morocco, is littered with life buoys, inflatable mattresses, and rubber chambers.
For thousands of Moroccan boys and girls, this is not a festival or a game, but a perilous attempt to seek a better future. Over the past ten days, between 1,500 and 2,000 people have tried to reach Ceuta. Today alone, by noon, there were about three hundred such attempts, with the mass border crossing captured on numerous videos circulating on social media. Meanwhile, many individuals arrive unnoticed, swimming across the sea. It is estimated that between 20 and 30 people may have died over the week, but so far, only five bodies have been recovered.
Some migrants tightly wrap themselves in adhesive tape, packing documents in bags and cellophane to protect them from water. Others set off swimming without flotation devices, complicating their identification. Dozens of Moroccan families post photos of their missing relatives on social media and local media on both sides of the border. Among them are minors. The story is almost always the same: the last phone call, followed by days of silence and uncertainty. Did they die at sea? Were they detained and taken to the Sahara? Or have they simply been unable to get in touch?
Overcrowded reception centers and a request for a state of emergency
The reception center and other facilities in Ceuta are overwhelmed. Civil Protection, the Red Cross, and non-governmental organizations are working to provide assistance, but the city is small, and its resources are limited. The president of the autonomous city, Juan Jesus Vivas of the People’s Party (Partido Popular), who has led Ceuta for 25 years, has called for a national state of emergency and the resumption of the practice of immediately returning migrants to the border.
This request contradicts a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, which stated that immediate return is only permissible when entry into Ceuta occurs through the destruction of border structures. In other words, only if a person is detained while crossing the heavily fortified border fence (‘Valla’), but not when they swim for kilometers along steep cliffs or traverse the sea for at least five to six hours. For such cases, the court noted, citing international law, maritime law, and the right to asylum, the standard procedure must be followed.
Government rejects request, Vox accuses Sanchez
This is why the government rejected Vivas’ demand. According to the Ministry of the Interior, led by Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who will visit Ceuta tomorrow, the state of emergency regime applies only in cases clearly defined by law: floods, earthquakes, volcanic activity, dangerous weather phenomena, forest fires, accidents involving hazardous substances, nuclear and radiological incidents, as well as other technological risks.
“The declaration of a national state of emergency,” the statement reads, “is regulated by legislation in the field of civil protection, which does not consider migration flows as a threat to the National Civil Protection System and does not provide for special plans or separate mechanisms for their resolution.”
The situation has intensified the political debate on migration, which has been ongoing since the large-scale legalization of migrants initiated by the government of Pedro Sanchez. It also affects relations with Morocco, with which Spain is conducting a delicate dialogue on Western Sahara. The leader of the ultra-right party Vox Santiago Abascal, a political ally of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, described the situation as an “invasion.”
In his view, this process was deliberately orchestrated by the government of Pedro Sanchez, whom he labeled the “head of the mafia.” In a post on the X platform, he stated: “These are men of conscription age, whom the corrupt government of Sanchez has called to storm our borders only so that they can then walk the streets of Spain, shouting: ‘Long live Pedro Sanchez!’ For every rape, every knife wound, and every blow to the pockets of Spaniards who pay for their upkeep, there is one main culprit—the head of the mafia, who desperately calls for new accomplices to stay in power.”
The People’s Party employs significantly more restrained rhetoric but promotes a similar approach to migration policy. In many regions of the country, its collaboration with Vox has contributed to a shift in the political course to the right, reflecting the slogan “Spaniards first.” One of the key points of this policy, especially in Ceuta, remains the refusal to accept unaccompanied minor migrants.
