New Delhi: Thousands of Moroccan migrants entered Ceuta, a small North African enclave under Spanish control, Thursday. The Spanish government deployed troops to strengthen security in the region following appeals from local officials, overwhelmed by the influx of migrants.
Spanish state-owned broadcaster TVE estimated that between 2,000 and 3,000 migrants entered the enclave within a matter of hours Thursday, with over a dozen people reportedly drowning in their efforts to swim and enter.
Though the number of migrants entering Ceuta has been rising throughout the past week, the cause behind the immense and sudden stream Thursday remains unclear.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said armed forces will assist the country’s Civil Guard in securing the enclave.
“We are mobilizing all necessary resources, working with Moroccan and international authorities, and preparing the necessary measures to restore normalcy as soon as possible,” Sánchez wrote in a post on X.
Madrid has also sent additional police officers, naval and aerial support, and military diving teams to patrol the surrounding waters. Moroccan authorities have employed water cannons and riot-control equipment to discourage further crossings.
Spain has emphasised that it is coordinating with Rabat to restore control at the border. Sánchez and Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, are expected to visit Ceuta Friday.
Why migrants are swimming to Ceuta
To reach Ceuta, thousands of Moroccans this week entered the sea and swam around the jetty marking the border between Morocco and the Spanish enclave. Those who completed the crossing celebrated on Spanish beaches, which were soon filled with abandoned swimming gear and cheering crowds.
However, more than 15 people have reportedly drowned while attempting the journey.
The surge in sea crossings followed a Spanish Supreme Court ruling on 8 July 2026 that migrants intercepted while swimming towards Ceuta or Melilla, Spain’s other North African enclave, cannot be summarily returned under the enclaves’ special border-rejection regime.
The case concerned an Algerian migrant who was intercepted while swimming towards Ceuta and returned to Morocco without undergoing an ordinary immigration procedure or receiving access to legal assistance.
Spanish law allows authorities to immediately return some migrants caught crossing the physical barriers surrounding Ceuta and Melilla. The court, however, found that this provision applies specifically to people crossing physical “elements of containment”, such as border fences.
The sea, drones and surveillance technology cannot be treated as equivalent physical barriers, the judges ruled. Migrants intercepted in the water must instead be processed under Spain’s ordinary immigration law, which may allow them to seek asylum, obtain legal representation or challenge their deportation.
Spain’s interior ministry accused human-trafficking networks of exploiting the ruling to “encourage the flow of undocumented migrants”.
“The armed forces will reinforce the Civil Guard in the exercise of its powers and any others that may be necessary to maintain security in the city of Ceuta,” the ministry said.
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What is Ceuta?
Ceuta is an autonomous city bordered by Morocco that has effectively been a Spanish territory since 1580. The small enclave has an area of approximately 18 square kilometers and is separated from mainland Spain by the Strait of Gibraltar, the maritime gateway connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.
Ceuta is separated from Morocco by an approximately eight-kilometre border containing high double fences, surveillance cameras, observation towers, patrol roads, and motion-detection technology. It has historically been a hotspot for migrants trying to enter Europe. Some migrants attempt to climb or cut through the fencing, while others swim around the breakwaters extending into the Mediterranean.
Together with Melilla—another Spanish-controlled city approximately 400 kilometres farther east—Ceuta forms the European Union’s only land border with Africa. The territories are therefore among the most direct entry points into the EU for migrants travelling from North and sub-Saharan Africa.
Ceuta is home to around 85,000 people, and its population is a mix of Christian, Muslim, Spanish, and Moroccan residents living in relative harmony. Its economy is closely connected to Spain, but the city is geographically surrounded by Morocco and depends heavily on cross-border commerce.
Morocco, however, disputes Spain’s sovereignty over both Ceuta and Melilla and considers them remnants of European colonial rule. Madrid maintains that the two autonomous cities are integral parts of Spain, with the same constitutional status as other Spanish territories.
A history of mass crossings
Ceuta’s location and small size make it particularly vulnerable to sudden increases in migrant arrivals. It has repeatedly been at the centre of migration crises involving Spain and Morocco.
In May 2021, around 8,000 people, including an estimated 1,500 minors, entered Ceuta over approximately two days after Moroccan border forces appeared to relax controls.
Unlike migrants reaching mainland Spain, those arriving in Ceuta cannot automatically travel across the Strait of Gibraltar. They are generally accommodated in temporary reception centres while authorities determine their legal status. These facilities were already operating beyond their intended capacity before Thursday’s mass crossing.
Ceuta’s president, Juan Jesús Vivas Lara, asked Madrid Thursday to declare a national emergency and establish a unified command structure to coordinate the response.
“We are facing a situation of absolute humanitarian and social emergency,” Vivas said.
The arrival of hundreds of unaccompanied minors has placed additional pressure on Ceuta’s administration, which is legally responsible for their housing, education, and welfare. Vivas added that the facilities for unaccompanied minors are operating at 2,400% of capacity.
Spain’s central government has however rejected the national emergency request, arguing that migration is not included among the emergencies covered by the country’s civil-protection framework.
Italy threatens Schengen action
The crisis has also triggered a dispute between Spain and Italy after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was considering suspending the Schengen open-border agreement with Spain.
The Schengen system allows people to travel between most European countries without routine passport checks. A suspension could involve Italy reintroducing controls on travellers arriving from Spain.
In a post on X Thursday, Meloni described the images from Ceuta as “striking”, saying they showed that “uncontrolled illegal immigration poses a concrete threat to the security of Europe’s borders”.
Her comments echoed similar remarks made earlier in the day by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares accused Tajani of using the crisis for domestic political purposes.
He said such remarks were “improper” for “a partner and friendly country from which we expect European solidarity and not partisan demagoguery”.
Political pressure on Sánchez
The influx has placed further pressure on the left-wing government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
Spain’s conservative and far-right opposition parties, such as the Vox party, have accused the government of weakening border controls and encouraging irregular migration through its plan to grant legal status to some undocumented migrants already living in Spain.
Vox leader Santiago Abascal described the influx as an “invasion” and claimed the government’s migration policies had encouraged the crossings.
The Sánchez government has rejected this argument, pointing to the deployment of troops and police as evidence that it intends to maintain control over Ceuta.
The crisis leaves Madrid balancing three competing priorities—securing its external EU border, protecting the legal rights of migrants, and maintaining cooperation with Morocco, on which Spain relies heavily to prevent further mass crossings.
(Edited by Niyati Kothiyal)
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