Ceuta is living a critical situation. Today, the entire Assembly of Ceuta unanimously has requested help from the Government and that it declare a national emergency, but the response from the Interior has been rejection. Meanwhile, around 1,500 immigrants, mostly young Moroccans and with a high presence of minors, have entered the city during the last week. In the meantime, thousands of people have approached the border or have attempted to reach Spanish territory by swimming, through the beach or skirting the breakwater of El Tarajal.
The images from the last days show groups advancing through the water and crossing on foot through the border area. Morocco claims to have intercepted hundreds of people before they reached Ceuta, but the figures show that the device has not been sufficient. The CETI is saturated, the minor protection system is overwhelmed, and the Police cannot keep up.
And while the immigrants manage to break the police cordon, the agents must monitor the border, participate in rescues, identify the newcomers, and process each file individually. Jupol and other police unions have been warning for some time that there are not enough personnel and resources in Ceuta. Now they openly speak of a situation of chaos and demand urgent reinforcements, clear instructions, and a reform of the Immigration Law.
The Government's Rejection
The Government, however, has so far rejected the two main requests made from Ceuta. The Interior maintains that the arrivals of immigrants do not fit among the assumptions provided by the Civil Protection Law to declare a national emergency. It also does not contemplate immediately modifying the immigration legislation.
Fernando Grande-Marlaska will travel this Friday to Ceuta, after the president of the city, Juan Jesús Vivas, requested an extraordinary intervention from the State. The Ceuta Assembly demands a common response to a problem that the city, due to its size and lack of space, cannot handle alone.
The Day of the Throne of Mohamed VI
The crisis coincides also with the Throne Day of Mohamed VI. While Morocco celebrates the 27 years of reign of the monarch, thousands of young people are moving towards the northern coast of the country with the intention of reaching Ceuta. Rabat claims that it cooperates with Spain and that its security forces are stopping numerous attempts. However, the entry of 1,500 people in one week raises the question of whether that collaboration is working and if Morocco is doing everything necessary to control the departures from its territory. That is at least what Ceutí media are asking this Thursday, stating that, while Moroccan citizens are jumping the fence of Ceuta, their monarch looks the other way.
What happened also worries Europe. Ceuta is an external border of the European Union and those who arrive in the city enter the community migratory space. Predictably, and as has been happening so far, a part will try to move on to the Peninsula and continue towards France or other countries.
Italy does not directly receive those who enter through Ceuta, but shares with Spain the pressure of the Mediterranean routes and has been demanding greater control of the external borders for years. Spanish decisions, therefore, do not only affect Ceuta. They also condition European migration policy and relations with neighboring countries that may receive subsequent movements.