The Spanish city of Ceuta has declared a state of emergency due to an influx of migrants — Reuters
The Spanish autonomous city of Ceuta, located in North Africa, has declared a humanitarian and security emergency due to a sharp increase in the number of migrants. Over the past week, about 1,500 people have reached the enclave by crossing the sea from Morocco.
This was announced by Ceuta’s mayor, Juan Jesús Vivas. According to him, the wave of migrant arrivals has overwhelmed the city’s reception system. Due to a lack of space, hundreds of people are forced to sleep outdoors, and centers for unaccompanied minors are operating at 2,400% of their designed capacity.
Vivas called the situation a national emergency and urged Spain’s central government to take immediate and coordinated action. He said that currently, about 300 migrants are arriving in Ceuta every day.
The mayor warned that at this rate, the city could face a crisis similar to the one in May 2021, when about 10,000 migrants entered the enclave within a few days.
Vivas also drew attention to the loss of life during dangerous sea crossings. He said that 60 bodies have been recovered from the water in recent months. He emphasized that tightening migration controls would help prevent new tragedies.
On Friday, Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska is scheduled to visit Ceuta, where he will hold meetings with local authorities and law enforcement officials.
In early July, Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that migrants detained at sea while attempting to reach Ceuta or Melilla cannot be immediately returned under the simplified procedure previously used in these enclaves.
This was reported by Reuters.
As a reminder, on Thursday, July 30, three migrants died while attempting to illegally cross the English Channel in a small boat near the French port of Dunkirk. This was reported by the local administration responsible for the English Channel and North Sea region.
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