Ceuta grapples with aftermath of massive border surge after most migrants leave territory

Most of the 60,000 North African migrants who entered the Spanish territory of Ceuta had been returned to Morocco by Sunday, officials said, but a cloud remains over the tiny enclave. 

Shops in Ceuta reopened, and the usual blend of residents and tourists in the city of 84,000 were filling the open-air terraces, restaurants and cafes.

But the city that prides itself on being home to four cultures was still grappling with the aftermath of the border surge, with locals disagreeing on what caused it and who exactly is to blame. Meanwhile, Spanish civil guard ships continued searching for migrant bodies in the waters near the stretch of urban beach that had been breached by people days earlier. 

Border surge breathes new life into Europe’s immigration debate

At least 72 people died, including some who drowned and others who were killed in a stampede to cross a breakwater barrier, Spanish authorities said Sunday. The humanitarian crisis caused by the sudden rush of people has reignited a debate around immigration in Europe and beyond. 

“It’s not the young men’s fault,” said Mohamad Abdelkader Driss, 44, a waiter at a fried fish restaurant in town. “If you open the border, of course everyone comes in, but the young men aren’t to blame. The authorities are responsible.”

Some migrants who returned to Morocco described a border that was effectively open and said authorities did little as they watched thousands of people cross. Spain says it plans to construct a containment fence.

The unauthorized arrivals on Thursday and Friday of 50,000 to 60,000, mostly young men, swelled Ceuta’s population by more than half. Abdelkader lamented what happened, but said those who breached the border behaved relatively well.

“It could have been much worse,” he said.

Far-right politicians call for remaining migrants to be expelled

Over the weekend, far-right, anti-immigrant Spanish politicians and well-known right-wing influencers descended on the city, sparking counterprotests that included members of the Spanish city’s large Muslim population, many of whom are of Moroccan descent.

Alvise Pérez, a far-right Spanish politician and member of the European Parliament, called on Saturday evening for migrants to be expelled as he faced an angry crowd of rival protesters. Pérez eventually had to shelter in a bar as residents banged on the windows, until police escorted him away.

Among the counterprotesters on Saturday was 20-year-old Ceuta resident and student Noor Ahmed. She denounced the protest and presence of figures like Pérez in her city as opportunistic.

“They just want to take advantage of the humanitarian crisis Ceuta is currently experiencing,” Ahmed said.

Santiago Abascal, the leader of the far-right Vox party, visited Ceuta on Sunday, slamming the Spanish government for the surge in migrant arrivals, which he called “an invasion.”

“The frontiers of Ceuta and Melilla are the walls of our home and homeland, and they are not being protected by a corrupt and traitorous government,” he said.

Ceuta’s tradition of tolerance comes under strain

Some locals, even acknowledging Ceuta’s population of Christians, Muslims, Jews and Hindus that normally live in relative harmony, worried about what the week revealed about the city.

Eva Barrientos, a resident of Ceuta who works at a logistics company, came to the protest on Saturday evening to see what Pérez and the other right-wing figures had to say. She was confident that something similar would happen again and questioned the loyalty that some of Ceuta’s foreign-born residents had to Spain.

“In Ceuta, we have always lived together. We have four cultures living very well, without any problems,” she said. “But the only thing we are realizing now is that there is an enemy within.”

She accused some foreign-born residents of having more loyalty to Morocco than the country in which they lived.

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday said he was “following with concern the alarming situation in Ceuta, asking God … that solutions of peace, stability and justice may be found.”

Migration has been one of Pope Leo’s priorities, which he underlined during a recent visit to the Canary Islands in Spain, one of Europe’s main migrant entry ports.