Migrants Cross Border Into Spain’s Ceuta, Overwhelming Police, Guardia Civil Says

Migrants broke through ‌the fences into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco on Thursday after overwhelming police at the city’s breakwater, Spain’s Guardia Civil police said.

Video footage showed some migrants swimming over from the Moroccan side using inflatable inner tubes and other flotation devices, and others breaking through a gate in the ​fence and running into the city.

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A Guardia Civil spokesperson said the migrants were “massively entering from the ⁠sea” through the Tarajal breakwater, but could not provide any estimates for the numbers.

State television TVE on Thursday reported that 2,000 to ​3,000 people had crossed. Reuters was not immediately able to confirm those reports.

Ceuta, together with Melilla — another Spanish autonomous city located in North Africa — represents ​the European Union’s only land border with Africa. Both cities periodically experience surges in attempted crossings by migrants seeking to reach Europe.

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Earlier on Thursday, Ceuta leader Juan Jesus Vivas urged the national government to declare an emergency over the mass arrivals.

Ceuta’s regional government requested that Madrid deploy the army to guarantee safety and close the border with Morocco, ​in a message on X.

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The Interior Ministry said it was working closely with Morocco to address the surge in irregular arrivals, having prevented thousands of migrants from illegally entering Ceuta in recent days.

It vowed to immediately deport those entering illegally, blaming people-smuggling networks for exploiting the Supreme Court’s ruling to ⁠encourage undocumented ​migration.

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