More than 1,500 migrants, including adults and minors, have reached Spain’s North African territory of Ceuta by swimming from Morocco in recent days, overwhelming border authorities and migrant reception facilities.
The surge, described by local officials as unusual despite the seasonal increase in sea crossings during good weather, has left reception centres in Ceuta overcrowded, with hundreds of migrants reportedly sleeping outside.
Juan Jesús Vivas, president of Ceuta’s government, said Wednesday that more than 1,500 migrants had arrived by sea in recent days.
“The reception centres are collapsed and saturated,” Vivas told journalists.
He also warned of the dangers of the crossing, saying migrants had died while attempting to reach the territory and that about 60 bodies had been spotted at sea over the past year. Recent reports also indicate deaths and missing migrants linked to attempted crossings in the area.
Spain’s Interior Ministry did not confirm the number of recent arrivals, instead referring journalists to its regular migration report, with the next update expected on August 3.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska acknowledged that authorities were facing what he described as an “extraordinary, exceptional situation,” while insisting that the government was responding with resources already deployed in Ceuta.
Spain’s Civil Guard, Maritime Rescue Service and the Red Cross have been using boats to rescue migrants from the water before transporting them to Ceuta.
Most of those making the crossing are Moroccan nationals, while a smaller number are Algerians who had been living in Morocco as they sought to reach Europe, according to activists in Morocco and Ceuta.
The reason for the sudden increase in crossings remains unclear. While some have pointed to recent developments in migration policy, including a Spanish Supreme Court ruling concerning the treatment of migrants arriving by sea, activists have questioned whether the ruling was responsible for the latest surge.
Vivas criticised the court decision, which established that migrants arriving by sea cannot be immediately returned without due process, unlike people who cross the land border by climbing the security fence.
Meanwhile, authorities continue efforts to manage the unprecedented arrivals as the pressure on Ceuta’s border and migrant reception system intensifies.
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