Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday planned to head to the country’s north African exclave after tens of thousands of undocumented migrants crossed the border overnight. 

Spain sent troops to the Ceuta enclave to reinforce the Civil Guard and help maintain security after waves of people crossed from Morocco around the frontier fence to enter Spanish territory, many swimming around the border.

Spain’s ​Interior ​Ministry said on Friday that ​according ‌to ⁠its ‌estimates some ⁠49,000 migrants had crossed ​into ‌the exclave over the past 24 ​hours. 

At least 18 people have died trying to reach the city, a ministry spokesperson said.

‘It’s chaotic’

Rachid Sbihi, who leads a local workers association representing Civil Guard officers described the situation as a “serious humanitarian crisis”.

“People are still entering. The reinforcements that have arrived are only helping the injured and other humanitarian efforts,” he said.

Without shelter, thousands of migrants, including unaccompanied children, were left sleeping in parks and sidewalks, with others roaming the streets aimlessly, he said.

“It’s chaotic,” he added.

Among the 18 people who died, many drowned but some were also killed in the stampede to cross the breakwater fence at Tarajal beach, Sbihi said.

Migration from Morocco into Spain’s two north African territories, Ceuta and Melilla, has long been a sensitive issue between the two countries, as thousands of people cross the border at times.

Italy on Thursday called for Spain to be suspended from Europe‘s open-borders Schengen zone, prompting Spain to summon Italy’s ambassador to Madrid.

On Thursday, AFP reporters saw a stream of adults and children entering Ceuta after having swum there. Discarded flotation rings and clothes were abandoned on the shore near where the border barrier meets the sea.

Sanchez will visit the Tarajal border crossing with Interior Minister Fernando Gramnde-Marlaska on Friday, the government said in a statement.

Ceuta and Melilla have Europe’s only two land borders with Africa.

Behind the scenes

Migrants walked through the streets of Ceuta, thanking the Spanish police and calling out: “Bye bye, Morocco, hello Spain.”

Police and Civil Guards in Ceuta appeared to do little to intervene, although some officers attempted to direct the arrivals to the local migrant reception centre.

Morocco’s authorities had not yet issued an official statement on the influx of people, but a Moroccan official source told AFP on condition of anonymity that the two countries had spoken about the matter.

In 2021, more than 10,000 migrants reached Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco over the course of two days, taking advantage of a loosening of border controls by Rabat during a crisis between the two countries.

That dispute erupted after Spain decided to host the leader of the Sahrawi independence movement, the Polisario Front, for medical treatment.

Polisario guerrillas fought a long war with Morocco over independence of the Western Sahara region. Morocco’s neighbour Algeria had supported the Polisario group.

That diplomatic crisis ended in 2022 when Madrid reversed its long-standing policy of neutrality and backed Morocco’s plan for Western Sahara – a move that had caused a diplomatic rift between Madrid and Algiers.

Sanchez visited Algiers on July 20 – the first such visit by a Spanish head of government in four years – marking a thaw in relations with Algeria. (France 24)

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The Spanish government is deploying extra troops and police officers to its north African enclave of Ceuta after thousands of people swam and waded into the tiny territory from neighbouring Morocco in a matter of hours.

Videos shot at Tarajal beach on Thursday showed crowds of people walking around the breakwaters and running on the beach and roads.

Most appeared to be young men, but there were also families with women and children. “Viva España!” some shouted to a freelance photographer working for the Associated Press, who was filming the scene.

A spokesperson for the Guardia Civil force, which polices Spain’s borders, said ⁠the migrants were “massively entering from the sea” through the Tarajal breakwater, but could not provide an estimate of the numbers.

On Thursday evening, Spain’s interior ministry announced that 60 members of the armed forces would be deployed to Ceuta, along with an additional 30 Guardia Civil officers. “The armed forces will reinforce the Guardia Civil in the exercise of its powers and any others that may be necessary to maintain security in the city of Ceuta,” the ministry said.

But it rejected calls for the declaration of a national emergency, saying such emergencies could not be declared over migration issues, and could be declared only in response to dire meteorological events – such as the current wildfires – or in the face of a volcanic or nuclear threat.

Sánchez said his government would provide “an immediate response” to the situation in Ceuta, which echoes the border crisis in 2021 when more than 8,000 people arrived in just two days.“We’re mobilising all necessary resources, working with Moroccan and international authorities, and preparing the necessary measures to restore normality as soon as possible,” he said in a post on X. “I just conveyed this to President Vivas. This is the moment to build solutions, with responsibility and cooperation.”

Ceuta and Spain’s other north African territory of Melilla make up the EU’s only land border with Africa. Both cities periodically experience crowds of would-be migrants attempting to reach Europe.

Spain’s national broadcaster, TVE, reported that between 2,000 and 3,000 people had crossed into Ceuta, while the state news agency, Efe, said some had entered the territory by scaling the high border fence.

Efe also reported that Moroccan authorities in riot gear were using teargas and water cannon to disperse people near the border.

“The situation is absolute chaos,” said Rachid Sbihi, the head of the association that represents Guardia Civil officers in Ceuta. “It’s not possible to give precise numbers, but there are thousands of migrants crossing.” He added that the border had “totally collapsed”.

Agence France-Presse quoted a government spokesperson as saying that nine bodies had been recovered.

Achraf Maimouni, a member of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, described the situation as “exceptional”. He said the Tarajal border had been opened “under unusual circumstances” on Thursday morning and people had crossed over.

Juan Jesús Vivas, the president of Ceuta, demanded the deployment of additional police and troops “to guarantee the inviolability of the frontier” and citizens’ safety. He also called on the central government to declare a national emergency over the crossings.

Vivas had said on Wednesday that migrant reception centres were overwhelmed, with hundreds of people sleeping on the streets. He said Ceuta needed “more resources, more infrastructure, more regulation and effective coordination between all the administrations”.

“We’re not looking for privileges; we’re looking for a fair and responsible solution in line with our reality,” he added.

This month ​Spain’s supreme court ruled that migrants intercepted at sea while attempting to reach Ceuta or Melilla could not be summarily returned under the enclaves’ special border rejection regime.

The Guardia Civil spokesperson told Reuters: “It has been a slow trickle since the supreme court’s ruling, but today has been an explosion.”

The latest arrivals sparked tensions with Italy, whose prime minister and foreign minister called for Spain to be suspended from the EU’s visa-free Schengen travel zone.

Giorgia Meloni said on X: “We are convening the relevant bodies, and following these meetings, we are prepared to intervene with extraordinary measures to defend the borders and the safety of citizens, including the suspension of the Schengen Area with Spain.”

When foreign minister Antonio Tajani made a similar call earlier in the day, his Spanish counterpart, Jose Luis Albares, accused him of weaponising immigration for political ends. He said such remarks were “improper” for “a partner and friendly country from which we expect European solidarity and not partisan demagoguery”.

In Ceuta, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the conservative opposition People’s party, to which Vivas belongs, said the situation was desperate. “The government can’t look the other way, because we are facing a national security crisis,” he added.

Santiago Abascal, who leads the far-right Vox party, described the incident as an “invasion” and said those crossing into Ceuta were not fleeing war or poverty but had been summoned by Sánchez’s government to ensure he could remain in power.

Moroccan government sources attributed the surge to “criminal organisations” and said its cooperation with Spain remained “exemplary”.

The mass crossing into Ceuta in May 2021 came amid heightened tensions between Madrid and Rabat over Spain’s decision to allow a Western Sahara independence leader to be treated for Covid-19 in Spain.

Speaking at the time, Sánchez hinted at a link between the sudden relaxing of border controls and the diplomatic tensions.

“As the president of Spain, I believe firmly that Morocco is a partner country, it’s a country that is a friend of Spain and it should continue this way,” he said. “To be effective, this cooperation needs to always be based on respect. Respect for mutual borders.” (The Guardian)

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Spain has kicked off a program aimed at granting legal status to 500,000 undocumented migrants, in a move that goes against a trend of anti-immigration rhetoric and policies in the United States and much of Europe.

The program, announced in January, intends to reduce labor exploitation in Spain’s underground economy. The country’s central bank and the United Nations have previously said that Spain needs around 300,000 migrant workers a year to sustain its welfare state.

Hundreds of migrants lined up outside migration offices to try to legalize their status on Monday as Spain opened an in-person application window.

Others queued outside city council buildings to obtain a certificate confirming they are in a state of vulnerability. Such a document is sometimes required to apply for regularization.

In Almería, a city on Spain’s southeastern coast, the line was so long that police had to turn people away for the day.

“I arrived at 6:30 a.m. There were already a lot of people. I’ll have to get up earlier,” Colombian migrant Enrique Solana told Reuters after an officer said officials would not be able to help all the migrants that day.

Spanish Migration Minister Elma Saiz said migrants must visit assigned offices by appointment and that in certain cases a vulnerability certificate is required.

She pushed back against concerns that the mass legalization measure would lead to more competition for jobs.

“Regularization is not competition. It is social justice and visibility. It is giving opportunities,” she said Monday on X.

When Spain announced the measure in January, Saiz said the country was “strengthening a migration model based on human rights, integration, coexistence and compatibility with economic growth and social cohesion.”

She added that the new measure was “necessary to respond to a reality that exists on our streets” and would benefit the country’s economy.

The presidency has said the measure will allow a “dignified” life for migrants.

Foreigners who arrived in Spain before Dec. 31, 2025, and can prove they have been living in the country for at least five months will be granted legal residency of up to one year and work permits valid for any sector nationwide. They will need to prove they have no criminal record.

People are able to apply from the beginning of April until June 30. (CNN)

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Nearly 100 migrants, including Sri Lankans, deported by the United States to Panama have been moved to a remote facility in the Darien jungle where they will stay until they are moved to another country, Panama’s security ministry said.

Panama, Costa Rica and Guatemala have all agreed to receive migrants from other nations expelled by the United States and hold them until they are repatriated or sent to other host nations.

The Central American nations agreed following a recent tour of the region by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and after President Donald Trump threatened to take back the Panama Canal if Panama did not limit alleged Chinese influence over the operation of the critical waterway.

For several days, about 300 migrants, mostly from Asia, were held in a hotel in the capital Panama City.

“So far, 97 (deported migrants) have been transferred to the San Vicente shelter” in Darien province, on the border with Colombia, Panama’s security ministry said Wednesday in a statement.

The facility near Meteti, a town 230 kilometres (143 miles) east of the capital, was until now used by migrants entering Panama from Colombia after crossing the dangerous jungle on their way north to the US border.

Of the 299 migrants deported from the United States in recent days, 175 have opted to voluntarily return to their country and are still at the Decapolis Hotel in Panama City, the ministry said.

“So far 41 air tickets have been purchased” including 17 to India, nine to Turkey and eight to China, it added.

Panama’s government on Tuesday denied that migrants it received were being held against their will, after some displayed handwritten signs at hotel windows with messages such as “We are not safe in our country.”

One Chinese national escaped from the hotel but was found in Costa Rica and returned to Panama, Panamanian authorities said.

Public Security Minister Frank Abrego said this week that migrants who do not go home voluntarily would be transferred to the Darien facility, while the International Organization for Migration and the UN refugee agency organize their relocation to another country.

Costa Rica’s President Rodrigo Chaves, meanwhile, said his country will receive 50 children Thursday among 200 Asian migrants deported by the United States, vowing to “treat them well.” (CTV news)

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Reports have emerged of nearly 350 Sri Lankans employed at an apparel factory in the Sahabi area in Jordan facing dire conditions, due to the non-payment of salaries.

According to the affected group, the management of the factory has not paid salaries over the last 18 months.

They claim that this has resulted in the Sri Lankans being stuck in their hostels without food and water, and with some falling severely ill.

Making their plight known via a video message, the affected Sri Lankans further said that even though the Sri Lankan Embassy in Jordan has been informed of their situation, no probe or action has been taken in this regard yet. 

They have requested the Sri Lankan authorities to repatriate them before the situation results in the loss of lives. (NewsWire)

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