Spain Rushes to Control Border After Tens of Thousands of Migrants Flood Into Exclave
Wall Street Journal
July-31-2026
Spain rushed to tighten border security after tens of thousands of immigrants from Morocco illegally entered a tiny Spanish territory in North Africa, overwhelming local authorities and sparking what could be Europe’s biggest immigration crisis in years.
Spain’s Interior Ministry said Friday that roughly 50,000 people had entered Ceuta from surrounding Morocco on Thursday and early Friday, but that half of those—some 25,000—had already returned to Morocco by Friday afternoon, mostly because the enclave was overrun and they had no food or water.
The president of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, told reporters on Friday that 60,000 had entered.
Ceuta only has some 84,000 residents.
At least 34 people died, mostly by drowning as crowds tried to swim around breakwaters that divide Ceuta from Moroccan territory, Spanish officials said.
The mass entry could cause a humanitarian crisis, given most of the people arrived without food or water. Footage on Spanish television showed Ceuta’s streets crowded with the new arrivals, with most sleeping on the streets overnight.
Ceuta’s streets were jammed with mostly young men loitering, looking to buy food or a SIM card to call home and using side streets and parks in the absence of available bathrooms, according to televised images and accounts from residents. Many shops closed to prevent looting, making it difficult for locals to stock up on supplies.
Rocio Gil, a Ceuta resident, wept as she told Spanish television that she was frightened to be in a city overrun with foreign young men. Visibly shaking and surrounded by a crowd of Moroccans, she said: “As a woman, you have to live this to understand what it’s like. It’s an invasion…and there is no law.”
Another local told the broadcaster Antena 3 that it felt like there were more immigrants now than residents: “We’re terrified. Does this seem normal? What’s going to happen when all these people get hungry?”
The chaotic scenes of thousands of men pouring across the border quickly went viral across Europe and elsewhere, and raised questions about whether the immigrants would be able to use their arrival in Spanish territory to then move elsewhere in Europe.
France said it was reinforcing security at its border with Spain, and Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said her country might consider suspending Europe’s Schengen rules—which allow workers and goods to cross borders freely—to prevent Spain from being used as an entry point for illegal immigration.
Ceuta and another Spanish territory, Melilla, both sit on the North African coast and jut out into the Mediterranean, bordered on land by Morocco. They have been controlled for centuries by Spain.
The territories are considered part of the European Union and therefore subject to Schengen laws that allow freedom of movement. However, internal Spanish rules require a special border check for those traveling from these areas to the rest of Spain, which in practice prevents most undocumented migrants from automatically traveling onward to Europe from Ceuta.
Until recently, Spanish law also allowed authorities to turn back most people who forced their way into Ceuta or Melilla almost immediately. But a Supreme Court ruling in July made it harder for local officials to return immigrants if they reach the territories by sea, requiring cases to be assessed individually.
Footage from Thursday’s mass crossing showed hundreds of discarded inflatable inner tubes—of the kind used by children in swimming pools—strewn along the beaches in Ceuta, having been used by immigrants.
The Spanish government on Thursday said it had reached a tentative agreement with Morocco to facilitate the return of people who have entered Ceuta illegally “as soon as possible.” But it’s unclear how soon that can happen given the court’s ruling.
The incident could lead to diplomatic tensions between Spain and Morocco. It also isn’t clear how tens of thousands of migrants were allowed to approach the fence and breakwater separating the enclave from Moroccan territory without the intervention of Moroccan border guards.
A similar crisis occurred in 2021 during a period of diplomatic tension between Morocco and Spain, leading to allegations among some Spanish politicians that Morocco was using immigration as a diplomatic weapon. Only 8,000 people crossed the border into Ceuta over a two-day period that year.
At the time, Spain had allowed an independence leader in Western Sahara, which Morocco claims as part of its sovereign territory, to enter the country for Covid-19 treatment.
This time around, the incident comes only weeks after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited Algeria, which supports claims to Western Sahara by that same North African independence group.
Immigration has been a hot-button issue in Europe since 2015, when more than a million people, many fleeing war-torn Syria, entered the continent on foot. Since then, anti-immigration and far-right parties have surged in popularity across Europe.
The mass crossing poses a major challenge for Sánchez, whose government has taken a more lenient approach to immigration than many other European countries.
Earlier this year, Sánchez’s government gave legal status to some half a million immigrants who had arrived in previous years but had no criminal record.
Sánchez visited Ceuta on Friday and called the scenes there “deplorable.” He said human-trafficking groups had taken advantage of the recent Spanish court ruling. He made no mention of his recent visit to Algeria and whether tensions with Morocco play a part in the crisis.
July-31-2026
Spain rushed to tighten border security after tens of thousands of immigrants from Morocco illegally entered a tiny Spanish territory in North Africa, overwhelming local authorities and sparking what could be Europe’s biggest immigration crisis in years.
Spain’s Interior Ministry said Friday that roughly 50,000 people had entered Ceuta from surrounding Morocco on Thursday and early Friday, but that half of those—some 25,000—had already returned to Morocco by Friday afternoon, mostly because the enclave was overrun and they had no food or water.
The president of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, told reporters on Friday that 60,000 had entered.
Ceuta only has some 84,000 residents.
At least 34 people died, mostly by drowning as crowds tried to swim around breakwaters that divide Ceuta from Moroccan territory, Spanish officials said.
The mass entry could cause a humanitarian crisis, given most of the people arrived without food or water. Footage on Spanish television showed Ceuta’s streets crowded with the new arrivals, with most sleeping on the streets overnight.
Ceuta’s streets were jammed with mostly young men loitering, looking to buy food or a SIM card to call home and using side streets and parks in the absence of available bathrooms, according to televised images and accounts from residents. Many shops closed to prevent looting, making it difficult for locals to stock up on supplies.
Rocio Gil, a Ceuta resident, wept as she told Spanish television that she was frightened to be in a city overrun with foreign young men. Visibly shaking and surrounded by a crowd of Moroccans, she said: “As a woman, you have to live this to understand what it’s like. It’s an invasion…and there is no law.”
Another local told the broadcaster Antena 3 that it felt like there were more immigrants now than residents: “We’re terrified. Does this seem normal? What’s going to happen when all these people get hungry?”
The chaotic scenes of thousands of men pouring across the border quickly went viral across Europe and elsewhere, and raised questions about whether the immigrants would be able to use their arrival in Spanish territory to then move elsewhere in Europe.
France said it was reinforcing security at its border with Spain, and Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said her country might consider suspending Europe’s Schengen rules—which allow workers and goods to cross borders freely—to prevent Spain from being used as an entry point for illegal immigration.
Ceuta and another Spanish territory, Melilla, both sit on the North African coast and jut out into the Mediterranean, bordered on land by Morocco. They have been controlled for centuries by Spain.
The territories are considered part of the European Union and therefore subject to Schengen laws that allow freedom of movement. However, internal Spanish rules require a special border check for those traveling from these areas to the rest of Spain, which in practice prevents most undocumented migrants from automatically traveling onward to Europe from Ceuta.
Until recently, Spanish law also allowed authorities to turn back most people who forced their way into Ceuta or Melilla almost immediately. But a Supreme Court ruling in July made it harder for local officials to return immigrants if they reach the territories by sea, requiring cases to be assessed individually.
Footage from Thursday’s mass crossing showed hundreds of discarded inflatable inner tubes—of the kind used by children in swimming pools—strewn along the beaches in Ceuta, having been used by immigrants.
The Spanish government on Thursday said it had reached a tentative agreement with Morocco to facilitate the return of people who have entered Ceuta illegally “as soon as possible.” But it’s unclear how soon that can happen given the court’s ruling.
The incident could lead to diplomatic tensions between Spain and Morocco. It also isn’t clear how tens of thousands of migrants were allowed to approach the fence and breakwater separating the enclave from Moroccan territory without the intervention of Moroccan border guards.
A similar crisis occurred in 2021 during a period of diplomatic tension between Morocco and Spain, leading to allegations among some Spanish politicians that Morocco was using immigration as a diplomatic weapon. Only 8,000 people crossed the border into Ceuta over a two-day period that year.
At the time, Spain had allowed an independence leader in Western Sahara, which Morocco claims as part of its sovereign territory, to enter the country for Covid-19 treatment.
This time around, the incident comes only weeks after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited Algeria, which supports claims to Western Sahara by that same North African independence group.
Immigration has been a hot-button issue in Europe since 2015, when more than a million people, many fleeing war-torn Syria, entered the continent on foot. Since then, anti-immigration and far-right parties have surged in popularity across Europe.
The mass crossing poses a major challenge for Sánchez, whose government has taken a more lenient approach to immigration than many other European countries.
Earlier this year, Sánchez’s government gave legal status to some half a million immigrants who had arrived in previous years but had no criminal record.
Sánchez visited Ceuta on Friday and called the scenes there “deplorable.” He said human-trafficking groups had taken advantage of the recent Spanish court ruling. He made no mention of his recent visit to Algeria and whether tensions with Morocco play a part in the crisis.
