After more than 8,000 Moroccans crossed over into Spain over the past few days, Spanish police were seen firing tear gas and using batons near the two countries’ border to prevent any more people from entering Spanish territory. The Spanish Interior Ministry has said that it has already returned over 5,600 of the migrants who had already entered Spanish territory, but noted that there were also around 1,500 unaccompanied minors who have been taken into custody as per Spanish law, which allows unaccompanied children to legally stay in the country under government supervision. At the same time, on Tuesday, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said that the government had deployed an additional 200 security forces to the bordering city of Ceuta to add to the 1,200 police officers who are already there.
Ceuta is a Spanish enclave that is situated at the tip of North Africa and borders Morocco. Starting on the weekend, thousands of Moroccans either swam around a breakwater or jumped over the double-wide, 10-metre fence to reach the Spanish territory. Over 300 other Moroccans tried to reach Spanish territory through its other enclave in North Africa—Melilla. Others gathered at a Red Cross warehouse in the hopes of being granted entry by Spanish Civil Guard officers.
However, Spain does not offer asylum status to Moroccans. Moreover, the two countries signed an agreement around 30 years ago that allows Spain to return anyone who swims into its territory.
These developments come against the backdrop of increased tensions between Rabat and Madrid. The Moroccan government has opposed Spain’s decision to admit a Western Saharan rebel leader into the country for medical treatment. Earlier this month, the leader of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, began treatment for COVID-19 at a hospital in northern Spain. The Polisario Front is fighting for the independence of the Sahrawis, while Rabat claims sovereignty over the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).
In response, Moroccan Foreign Minister Naser Burita accused Spain of “sacrificing [bilateral] relations” by not informing Rabat of Ghali’s entry into Spain. Spain, however, maintains that he was granted entry on “humanitarian” grounds and has no bearing on its stance on the Western Sahara conflict, which it maintains must be mediated by the United Nations.
In light of these tensions, it has been speculated that Morocco has relaxed its border protection, which has precipitated the ongoing migrant crisis. In fact, Moroccan Minister of State for Human Rights Mustapha Ramid wrote on Facebook: “What did Spain expect from Morocco, which sees its neighbour hosting the head of a group that took up arms against the kingdom?”
Moreover, ‘irregular migration’ from Morocco to Spain decreased by 13% between 2019 and 2020, which was attributed to Morocco’s “success in dismantling irregular migration networks and the security cooperation and information exchange” with Spain. It is also responsible for reducing transit migration from sub-Saharan Europe into Spain, and Spain registered 28% fewer arrivals in 2020 compared to 2019. Therefore, the current influx is evidently not due to a lack of capacity on Morocco’s part, but a lack of willingness. In fact, Moroccan Minister for Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita has said, “Rabat refuses to be the gendarme of the EU on migration issues,” adding, “When it comes to plotting with Algeria and the Polisario, Morocco leaves Spain’s radar, but when it comes to migration or terrorism, we become important again.”
Keeping this in mind, European Union (EU) Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said on Tuesday: “The most important thing now is that Morocco continues to commit to prevent irregular departures and that those that do not have the right to stay are orderly and effectively returned,” before declaring, “Spanish borders are European borders.” Meanwhile, European Commission (EC) Vice President Margaritis Schinas said that bloc stands in “full solidarity with Spain,” a point of view that was echoed by EC President Ursula von der Leyen.
Furthermore, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that he would be visiting the Ceuta and Melilla enclaves. He pledged to “restore order” and said that Spain will “immediately” return anyone who entered Spanish territory illegally, describing it as a “serious crisis for Spain and Europe.” He also cancelled his visit to Paris this week, where he was scheduled to take part in the Africa-France Finance Summit. Although he described Morocco as a “friend”, he called for “respect for mutual borders” and said, “The lack of border control by Morocco is not only a show of disrespect of Spain, but rather for the European Union.”
Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya also lodged a formal complaint with the Moroccan ambassador to Madrid.
The latest influx of migrants from Morocco is not unprecedented. Between January and April, around 4,500 ‘irregular’ migrants arrived at Spain’s Canary Islands, twice as high as during the same period last year. The majority of the migrants hailed from Mali and Morocco.
Locals in Ceuta, a city that is inhabited by around 85,000 people, have described it as an ‘invasion’. The President of the autonomous city, Juan Jesús Vivas, has said, “It’s such a strong invasion that we are not able to calculate the number of people that have entered,” adding, “The army is at the border in a deterrent role, but there are great quantities of people on the Moroccan side waiting to enter.” He further said that shopkeepers have kept their stores closed and that school attendance fell by 60% in light of the ‘invasion’. Vivas also took aim at the “absolute passivity of Moroccan authorities.”
In an effort to prevent a similar episode from occurring again, El País reported on Tuesday that the Spanish Council of Ministers had approved a €30 million ($36.5 million) grant to help Morocco restrict “irregular immigration”. Of course, these funds—which will be directed towards increasing patrols, improving maritime border surveillance, and the repair and maintenance of surveillance equipment—were submitted for consideration well before this past week’s events, demonstrating that Spain has been aware of the possibility of a migrant influx from Morocco for some time now.