{"id":63020,"date":"2026-07-30T11:41:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T11:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/63020\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T11:41:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T11:41:11","slug":"leader-of-spains-ceuta-warns-of-emergency-as-1500-migrants-arrive-in-one-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/63020\/","title":{"rendered":"Leader of Spain’s Ceuta Warns of Emergency as 1,500 Migrants Arrive in One Week"},"content":{"rendered":"

MADRID, July 30 (Reuters) – Spain’s North African enclave of \u2060Ceuta \u2060is experiencing a humanitarian and \u2060security emergency after 1,500 migrants reached the city by swimming \u200bacross from Morocco over the past week, the territory’s leader said on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Ceuta, together with \u200cMelilla – another Spanish autonomous city located \u200cin North Africa – represents the European Union’s only land border with Africa. Both \u2060cities periodically \u2060experience surges in attempted crossings by migrants seeking to reach Europe.<\/p>\n

Speaking \u200bin separate interviews with radio stations Cadena SER and Onda Cero, Juan Jesus Vivas said the recent influx had overwhelmed the city’s reception system and left hundreds of migrants sleeping outside.<\/p>\n

“We are \u200bfacing a situation of absolute humanitarian and social emergency,” Vivas told Cadena SER, \u2060adding that \u2060facilities for unaccompanied minors \u2060were operating \u200bat 2,400% of capacity.<\/p>\n

In comments to Onda Cero, he described the situation as a \u200bnational emergency and called \u2060for a “decisive, forceful, immediate and coordinated” response under a single command structure.<\/p>\n

Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska will travel to Ceuta on Friday to meet local authorities and security chiefs, as the Spanish government said it was coordinating across multiple ministries to strengthen border control \u2060and provide humanitarian assistance.<\/p>\n

Arrivals were currently averaging about 300 people a day, according \u2060to Vivas. At that pace, he warned, Ceuta could face a situation comparable to the May 2021 migration crisis, when 10,000 people entered the enclave in mere days.<\/p>\n

Vivas also pointed to the human cost of the crossings, saying 60 bodies had been recovered at sea in recent months, and argued that stronger migration controls would help prevent further deaths.<\/p>\n

The interior ministry said Moroccan security forces were helping to curb arrivals from its territory.<\/p>\n

Vivas called for changes \u2060to Spain’s immigration framework, saying legal shortcomings exposed by a recent Supreme Court ruling needed to be addressed.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ruled that migrants intercepted at sea while attempting to reach Ceuta or Melilla cannot be \u200bsummarily returned under the enclaves’ special border-rejection regime.<\/p>\n

(Reporting by Emma Pinedo; \u200bEditing by David Latona and Toby Chopra)<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.<\/p>\n

Photos You Should See \u2013 June 2026<\/p>\n

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