Spain and Morocco reinforce Ceuta border after 49,000 migrants cross in a day

Spain and Morocco reinforced the Ceuta border on Friday and halted a mass migrant crossing after roughly 49,000 people entered the Spanish enclave by land and sea within a single day, Reuters reported.

At least 19 bodies were found in the water during the surge.

Why did nearly 49,000 migrants cross into Ceuta in one day

A Spanish Supreme Court ruling barred the summary return of migrants intercepted at sea while trying to reach Ceuta or Melilla. Territorial Policy Minister Angel Victor Torres said the ruling may have driven the surge, as people rushed the border believing they could no longer be turned back immediately.

The crossings triggered political tensions across Europe. Italy threatened to suspend Spain's access to the EU's passport-free Schengen system in response to the scale of the surge.

Moroccan authorities deployed water cannon trucks at the border gates into Ceuta and pushed crowds back. The burned remains of a bus and seven cars were visible near the border area following clashes with the crowds.

How is Spain responding to the Ceuta border surge

Spanish authorities said they would move to expel people who entered illegally as quickly as possible. That effort comes despite a recent court ruling that placed new restrictions on the "border rejection" procedures used for immediate expulsions.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was scheduled to visit Ceuta on Friday alongside Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska. Torres told a local radio station that the government had responded immediately and would eventually return migrants while respecting court decisions and migrants' rights.

Ceuta and Melilla, Spain's two autonomous cities in northern Morocco, are the European Union's only land borders with Africa. Each city has a population of about 85,000, and both have periodically faced migration surges from people seeking to reach Europe.

Spanish authorities described the influx as the country's biggest migration crisis since at least 2021. Nearly 50,000 arrivals in a single day appeared to be unprecedented for the enclave.

What happened on the Moroccan side of the Ceuta border

Thousands of migrants entered the Moroccan town of Fnideq overnight despite an increased security presence that blocked most crossing attempts. Access to Ceuta appeared largely shut by Friday, but groups kept moving along the coast searching for alternative routes around the border fence, and some prepared to swim.

Brahim, 32, said he had traveled from Tangier hoping to cross through the border gate but found it effectively closed by the time he arrived. Women and children were among those seeking to cross, including people from Morocco and countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Spain's Guardia Civil police association, AUGC, said in a post on X that too few officers had been deployed to monitor the border fence during Thursday's surge, leaving authorities unable to stop the crossings. Several local migrant organizations said resources in Ceuta were insufficient and called for migration policies that respect the dignity and human rights of migrants and refugees.

Why is the Ceuta migrant surge a problem for Spain and Italy

Migration remains a politically sensitive issue across Europe, where debate over border controls has intensified since the 2015 migration crisis brought more than 1 million people to the continent, many fleeing the war in Syria. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Italy was prepared to intervene with extraordinary measures to defend its borders and the safety of citizens, including suspending the Schengen Area with Spain.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Spain's decision to grant citizenship to more than 500,000 irregular immigrants encouraged human trafficking. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares rejected the criticism, calling Tajani's comments inappropriate, and said Spain expected solidarity rather than partisan demagoguery from Italy. Albares added that he would summon the Italian ambassador to protest.