Why Did Nearly 60,000 African Migrants Storm Spain’s Beaches?
The mass migration event taking place in Ceuta, Spain, is a result of multiple push and pull factors that enticed thousands to make the swim from Morocco this week.
Read more Why Did Nearly 60,000 African Migrants Storm Spain’s Beaches?
Between Thursday and Friday, an estimated 60,000 migrants, mainly young men from Morocco, swam around or scaled border fences to reach nearby Ceuta, a Spanish territory of roughly 83,000 residents that sits on the African continent. As of publication, nearly three dozen people are dead, according to The New York Times.
For days leading up to the surge, a steady flow of hundreds of migrants entered the Spanish enclave, which is located 11 miles from mainland Spain and can be accessed via ferry.
Spain’s Interior Ministry in a Thursday statement attributed the earlier influx to “a court ruling to encourage the flow of undocumented migrants, mostly young people.”
Earlier this month, Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that migrants crossing by sea cannot be immediately deported.
“It has been a slow trickle since the Supreme Court’s ruling, but today has been an explosion,” a spokesman for Spain’s Guardia Civil police told Reuters Thursday.
Earlier this year, Spain’s far-left Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez allowed more than one million migrants to receive amnesty in an effort to counteract “MAGA-style leaders” shutting the doors to illegal immigration, according to The New York Times. The total number of applications was more than double what the government initially expected.
“What should we do with these people? Some leaders have chosen to hunt them down and deport them through operations that are both unlawful and cruel. My government has chosen a different way: a fast and simple path to regularize their immigration status,” Sánchez wrote in a New York Times op-ed in February.
“MAGA-style leaders may say that our country can’t handle taking in so many migrants — that this is a suicidal move, the desperate act of a collapsing country. But don’t let them fool you. Spain is booming,” he wrote.
Sánchez traveled to Ceuta on Friday after deploying the Spanish military to quell the ongoing chaos. His government has so far refused to make an emergency declaration, as requested by the local government in Ceuta, since Spain’s civil protection procedures don’t consider migration flows a risk to national security, the Associated Press reported.
During his visit, Sánchez pledged to start removing some of the migrants and fortifying the maritime border.
Read more TRUMP: Migrant Invasion Of Spanish Territory Will Be A Midterm Talking Point
“The Government will guarantee the safety of the residents of Ceuta, intensifying the presence of the Security Forces and Corps on the city’s streets. Additionally, we will deploy a physical containment barrier in the sea to facilitate repatriation at the border, in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling,” Sánchez said.
“We will expedite the repatriation files of the migrants who arrived irregularly. And we will maintain cooperation with the Moroccan authorities to continue fighting against the mafias that traffic in human beings,” he added.
Ceuta right now:
“Pedro Sanchez, hijo de puta!” pic.twitter.com/qjA624PYP7
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) July 31, 2026
On the Moroccan side, authorities clashed overnight with migrants making their way to Ceuta, deploying tear gas and water cannons. In the streets, vehicles were set ablaze amid the chaos.
But some migrants say that authorities in Morocco are helping facilitate their movement.
Moroccan national Ajoub el-Arrot, 24, who entered Ceuta, Spain, told The New York Times that Moroccan authorities “opened the border and let everyone go by,” adding, “I don’t know why they let us through.”
Migrants are continuing to flock to nearby Fnideq, Morocco, which has become a launching point for those making the trek to Ceuta.
Tensions in Ceuta remain high as migrants who have not eaten in days scour the town for food, as local officials say there’s no plan to feed or shelter the new arrivals. Some of the migrants have already chosen to turn around because they’re not getting any food as grocery stores shut their doors to them.
President Donald Trump issued a stark warning to the American people Friday, saying there could be a similar “invasion” of U.S. borders if Republicans lose in the upcoming midterms.
“If we’re not in office, our country will be invaded at levels that made Spain look small time,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at Camp David.
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