OVER 60,000 MIGRANTS REPORTEDLY SURGE TOWARD SPANISH TERRITORY…! – SHOCKING BORDER SCENES PROMPT ITALY TO TAKE EXTRAORDINARY ACTION
Real reason 60k migrants surged all at once across Spanish border
A decision made weeks ago may have triggered one of Europe’s largest border surges while Donald Trump has said the scenes were an “invasion”.
More than 60,000 migrants may have stormed into a Spanish territory in Africa due to a recent ruling by a court which led many to incorrectly believe they would not have to return to Morocco and could live in Europe.
That’s one theory circulating about the sudden and confronting scenes at the Spanish city of Ceuta which was overrun with migrants either scaling frontier fortifications or descending on beaches.
Italy has now taken the extraordinary move of closing its open border to Spain citing the situation and saying it was to “safeguard” Italians.
At a cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday, US time, Mr Trump said if Republicans didn’t win in the November midterm elections “our country will be invaded at levels that made Spain look small time”.
People gather along the border fence on the Morocco side of the Spanish border on July 31, 2026. (Photo by Abdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP)
People pose for a photo as they attempt to cross from the Moroccan northern town of Fnideq to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo)
Most migrants have now left Spain
There are also accusations that Moroccan authorities didn’t do enough to initially stop the surge with a potential reason being annoyance at Spain for strengthening relations with a neighbouring nation.
Ceuta is one of several Spanish exclaves on the north African coast hemmed in Morocco and the Mediterranean Sea.
On Thursday, Spain said it would send in the military after the beaches off the exclave were inundated with mostly Moroccans swimming around a border barrier.
SPONSORED
Laos wants more control of its gold – by building the bullion market it never hadBusiness TImes
SPONSORED
Climbers find house in Mountain Side. Then they take a look Inside!Tips and Tricks
SPONSORED
15 Wardrobe Malfunctions That Are Pretty Obvious But No One NoticedHightally
The 60,000 people crossing the border almost equalled the 83,000 residents of the small city.
At least 57 people have died since Thursday, many drowning despite the relatively short journey.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited Ceuta on Friday, local time, with his interior minister to manage what has become one the largest migrant crisis on the country’s border.
He has insisted that none of migrants had managed to cross the Mediterranean from the 18km square territory to mainland Spain. The PM also said many of those who scaled the border had returned after they became tired and hungry.
Spanish authorities have said 48,000 migrants have now departed Ceuta. When it became clear they would not be able to reach the Spanish mainland, it appears many simply trudged home.
Spain’s Prime minister Pedro Sanchez walks by the Tarajal border fence between Spain’s north Africa’s Ceuta enclave and Morocco during a visit on Friday after the surge of people. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO / AFP)
Locals ‘scared’
Residents told local media the city has descended into chaos on Thursday evening with business owners shutting shop and migrants needing to toilet in the streets.
“Shops shut because if you open a business, it gets overrun … We’re scared,” a restaurant owner told state-owned Spanish media outlet RTVE.
“The streets are packed. There are no measures in place. It’s every man for himself. They’re not giving us any help.”
Claims court decision fulled surge
Prime Minister Sanchez said on Friday that Spain would employ a string of buoys on the sea frontier to Morocco.
That in itself might not stop determined people from clambering over them to reach Spanish land. But that wasn’t necessarily the point, said Mr Sanchez.
This was to “to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling and at least create a physical barrier … to facilitate repatriation at the border”.
On July 8, Spain’s highest court ruled that people unlawfully entering the nation could only be sent immediately back if they had overcome a physical barrier – like a fence. Otherwise a time consuming legal process might have to take place.
A Spanish court ruling has said if people swam over the border and did not meet any physical deterrent on the way they could not as easily be deported. (AP Photo)
The judges said drones, sensors and thermal cameras trained at the beach boundary were not a “border containment element” and so people who crossed by sea could legally not be immediately deported.
A line of buoys might be enough to show a migrant had crossed a physical barrier and therefore could be legally sent straight back. Although there remains a legal question if, even in that case, Spain would still have to be prove someone was not a genuine asylum seeker.
The court ruling, itself, however, may have led many Moroccans to believe that simply the act of swimming across the border would lead to the right to remain in Spain.
Spain’s interior ministry has said human traffickers had used the court decision to encourage immigrants to cross into Ceuta.
Abdullah Abaakil, a representative for a Moroccan opposition party, said there has been many social media messages in Morocco about the court decision.
US President Donald Trump said it was an “invasion”. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Moroccan response under scrutiny
Another suggestion, is that Morocco itself initially did little to stem the flow of migrants to reach Spain.
Morocco claims the Spanish exclaves for itself, but nonetheless Rabat has professional relations with Madrid.
Mr Abaakil said it was “surprising” the Moroccan authorities “did not take any precautionary or protective measures”.
Algeria and Morocco are neighbours who have frosty relations. Algerian state television said the incident was a “mass escape” of Moroccans, which it claimed were in a perilous economic state.
Mr Sanchez recently visited Algeria and there are suggestions Morocco is frustrated at Spain’s growing warmth with its rival.
Moroccan security forces clash with migrants attempting to cross into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta. (Photo by Abdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP)
It’s not the first time a mass crossing in a Spanish exclave has occurred, said Joel Crisetig, a research manager for ACLED, an organisation that analyses armed conflicts and protests.
“The latest developments, while unprecedented in their scale, are reminiscent of May 2021, when Moroccan border guards allowed the passage of more than 10,000 migrants to Spain within two days to protest Madrid’s perceived support for the independence of Western Sahara.
“Following Spain’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty … the number of crossings to Spain decreased significantly,” Mr Crisetig said.
Morocco hasn’t made any substantive comments about the situation in Ceuta. But there has since been an increased presence by the Moroccan authorities at the border with water cannons used to disperse crowds. Spain has not blamed Morocco and has stressed co-operation between the two nations.
Italy suspends free travel with Spain
Meanwhile, Italy has suspended the ability of people from Spain to freely enter the country.
Spain, like Italy, is part of the European Schengen travel zone where, under normal, circumstances, there are no physical borders. Crossing from one Schengen country to another is as easy as crossing an Australian state border.
But on Friday, Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani said it was “a necessary choice to safeguard the security of our citizens and defend the European borders”.
Finland on Friday also backed Italy’s call to shut Spain out of the zone over the crisis.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on X that he had “given instructions to immediately step up controls at the Spanish border” on Thursday night.
– With AFP.
