Ceuta migration crisis raises wider concern in Strait region and EU 

Last week, as tens of thousands of migrants entered Ceuta and right-wing politicians across Europe issued warnings about the consequences, Conservative Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel wrote an urgent open letter to Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband suggesting some would “inevitably” try to reach the UK. 

As France tightened border controls and Italy said it would conduct immigration checks on non-EU nationals arriving from fellow Schengen member Spain, Ms Patel asked whether Madrid’s amnesty for established migrants provided an incentive for others to enter the country illegally.  

She put a spotlight on Gibraltar in the process, calling on Mr Miliband to explain what measures he was taking “to protect Gibraltar from them entering” and what the risk was of them travelling towards the UK. 

The letter echoed similar appeals from across the European right, most in far more trenchant terms than the language used by Ms Patel.  

But missing in a lot of that messaging was acknowledgement that Ceuta is on the north African coastline, separated from the European mainland by the Strait of Gibraltar, and that Spain maintains document checks on anyone travelling between its enclave and the mainland.  

By late Friday, most of the 60,000 or so migrants who had entered Ceuta in recent days had returned to Morocco as Spain, in coordination with the Moroccan authorities, deployed additional army and police units to restore order. 

Spain’s migrant amnesty closed for applications in January this year and was aimed at those who were already established in Spain and had employment, family or were in a vulnerable situation. It did not apply to those arriving in Ceuta last week.  

But the crisis was unprecedented in scale and 22 Schengen states wrote an open letter to the European Commission demanding an urgent meeting “on the migrant emergency…[to] prevent uncontrolled irregular crossings, combat migrant smuggling networks, eliminate any factor that could encourage new illegal entries, and ensure a unified and effective European response”. 

Magnus Brunner, the European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, stressed “there are no onward movements” towards the European mainland. 

“The Schengen Borders Code provides for special rules that apply to Ceuta and Melilla,” he said on social media, referring to a second Spanish north African enclave that also witnessed an increase in migrant numbers in recent days. 

“Border checks on persons departing from Ceuta and Melilla remain in force.” 

“We welcome the close cooperation between Spain and Morocco to manage the situation and ensure swift returns.” 

For Spain’s Socialist government, the conclusion was the events last week were being exploited by some for political gain, either intentionally or through ignorance. 

“Such an attitude - driven by prejudice, fake news, ignorance or political interest - is not only contrary to European law, humanitarian law and the principles of solidarity that unite us, it also goes against Europe’s long-term interests and basic common sense,” said Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. 

“In the current international context, the European Union cannot afford such a selfish, divisive and unlawful reaction.” 

Mr Sanchez shared data showing that the number of irregular entries in Spain between 2021 and 2026 was lower than in other European countries. 

Spain, for example, had registered 234,760 irregular crossings in that period, compared to 478,600 in Italy, according to the EU borders and coastguard agency Frontex. 

“Solidarity and empathy are optional,” Mr Sanchez wrote on X. 

“Respect for European treaties and data is not.” 

In Gibraltar, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo praised Spain’s response to the events in Ceuta and underlined the humanitarian aspect of last week’s crisis, expressing solidarity with the people of Ceuta and the families of those who had died. 

“This is not a moment for political opportunism or alarmist rhetoric,” he said. 

“It is a moment for solidarity, responsible leadership and a clear focus on the human lives that have been lost.” 

Mr Picardo also sent a blunt message on Gibraltar, where immigration controls at the land border with Spain were lifted on July 15 as part of the new UK/EU treaty arrangements. 

“I want to be very clear,” he told Times Radio in an interview over the weekend. 

“From the point of view of Gibraltar there is no danger.”  

“Gibraltar is not going to suspend our new arrangements with the European Union.” 

And he added: “If you come into Gibraltar and you are illegally in Gibraltar, you're quickly arrested. You're put in jail.” 

Gibraltar has long maintained a tough stance on unlawful migration, though on many occasions in the past, people crossing the strait have ended up here inadvertently either because the tides have brought them this way or because they have been rescued at sea.  

Time and again, migrants of all ages have appeared in court and said they were trying to reach Spain and did not want to be in Gibraltar. 

Without any specific centre for migrants, people in those circumstances have faced lengthy periods of detention in Windmill Hill prison pending deportation to their home countries, not without controversy given most have committed no offence other than being here without a permit. 

Such situations are not unknown in Gibraltar but remain rare compared with the surrounding region. 

Events on the Rock and in the Campo over the weekend will nonetheless raise concern, despite official assurances and the absence of any confirmed link to Ceuta. 

In Gibraltar, three men, one from Algeria and two from Morocco, were arrested on Thursday night on immigration offences and on suspicion of going equipped for theft. They were charged and were due to appear before the Magistrates’ Court on Monday. 

On Sunday, Spain’s Policia Nacional said it had intercepted migrants arriving in Algeciras and La Linea’s eastern seaboard, with 17 people detained. 

There was no indication that the incidents in Gibraltar, Algeciras and La Linea were linked to the mass influx into Ceuta, but their timing ensured they would be viewed against the backdrop of a crisis that had placed migration, border controls and regional security under renewed scrutiny. 

“No arrivals of persons illegally in the Schengen space have been reported in Gibraltar,” a spokesperson for No.6 Covent Place told the Chronicle.

“The law enforcement agencies are on heightened alert but have not detected anything untoward and are liaising closely with the Spanish authorities.”

In Ceuta over the weekend, while most of those who entered unlawfully last week had gone back to Morocco, there were still hundreds of migrants on the city’s streets, looking for food and shelter which the enclave’s saturated migrant reception centres were unable to provide. 

Tensions flared up on occasion, with ugly scenes reported in many areas of the city, although one veteran local journalist told the Chronicle the situation had improved markedly by late Sunday. 

The focus was now on the clear-up and a slow return to at least a semblance of normality. 

The unprecedented nature of what had transpired meant too that Ceuta residents were shocked and scared by what had happened, “psychologically impacted” as the journalist put it, and fearful of what the future might bring. 

But there was “pride and unity” too in how Ceuta had responded, alongside a firm conviction that the city required greater commitment from the government in Madrid. 

The events last week, the journalist added, had been foreseen, with increasing numbers trying to enter the enclave in recent weeks. 

“This was published and the archive doesn’t lie,” the journalist said. 

“We could see this coming.” 

Understanding what happened was easier than establishing why. Several possible factors emerged in the aftermath, but none on its own provided a complete explanation for the speed and scale of the crossings. 

While Spain’s migrant amnesty would not help new arrivals, it could still have proved a “pull factor” on social media, as could a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling that migrants intercepted trying to enter Ceuta by sea could not be returned immediately to Morocco under special fast-track rules applying at the enclave’s land border. 

Attention also turned to whether the movement of some 60,000 people in such a short period could have happened without the knowledge or acquiescence of the Moroccan authorities. 

Some observers pointed to a recent trip by Mr Sanchez to Algiers to strengthen cooperation on migration, terrorism, energy and investment, a visible reconciliation after four years of strained relations caused by Spain’s 2022 decision to support Morocco’s autonomy proposal for Western Sahara. 

The sheer scale and speed of the crossings last week made a purely spontaneous explanation difficult to accept for many, who instead saw it as a message to Spain from Morocco, Algeria’s principal regional rival. 

El País, citing Spanish intelligence sources, reported that the timing had prompted speculation that the relaxation of Moroccan border controls may have been intended as a warning to Madrid, although Spain’s Foreign Ministry denied any connection and the precise motives remained unclear. 

In Ceuta last Friday, Mr Sanchez described the influx as “an attack and a violation of Spain’s territorial integrity” but did not directly blame Morocco.  

Instead, he accused trafficking networks of exploiting social-media rumours and the court judgment restricting immediate returns of migrants intercepted at sea.  

His government continued to describe Morocco as an ally and praised its subsequent cooperation in stopping crossings and receiving people back. 

Questions remain over what triggered the influx and whether it was spontaneous or enabled for political reasons.  

The focus will now shift to Europe’s response, with EU home affairs ministers due to hold an informal emergency videoconference on Tuesday to discuss the crisis in Ceuta.