Crisis eases in Spain's Ceuta as 48,300 migrants return to Morocco

The crisis that erupted when tens of thousands of people crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta began to ease within a day, as a large number of the unauthorized entrants returned across the border.

Spain's Interior Ministry said Saturday that at least 48,300 of those who had entered Ceuta without authorization had voluntarily returned to Morocco, according to Reuters. Between 50,000 and 60,000 people had surged from Morocco into Ceuta on Friday. Although Ceuta is a Spanish city, its location in North Africa makes it one of the key transit points for migrants seeking to reach Europe illegally.

The Spanish government put the total number of unauthorized entrants at around 50,000, while local Ceuta authorities estimated the figure at more than 60,000.

Only several thousand migrants remain in Ceuta. The Spanish government has deployed military personnel to carry out identity checks and repatriation procedures.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited Ceuta on Friday and called the mass crossing "an attack and a violation of Spain's territorial integrity."

Sanchez announced plans to set up a temporary reception center in Ceuta to process migrants' documents and swiftly deport those without legal status. He also said the government would install maritime marker buoys along the coast to demarcate the border and prevent future crossings.

The Sanchez government has pursued one of the EU's more permissive immigration policies in recent years — most recently opening a pathway for roughly one million long-term undocumented residents to apply for legal status — but the crisis has exposed it to criticism at home and abroad over its failure to control the border.

Despite the situation easing, anxiety in the city remains high. Thousands of migrants have been roaming the streets of a city of 84,000 residents. Many locals stayed indoors, fearing looting, and shops closed.

Authorities said they would not provide food or shelter to migrants still in the city. Some migrants said they had gone nearly two days without food.

Some young Spaniards chased migrants through the streets, shouting at them to return to Morocco. Police and soldiers, batons in hand, have been pushing migrants toward the border.

Authorities said at least 60 people died while attempting to enter Ceuta. Many are believed to have drowned while trying to swim across the breakwater that separates Ceuta from Moroccan territory.

Sanchez cited a Supreme Court ruling issued three weeks ago as a factor behind the crisis, saying smuggling networks had interpreted it in their favor. The court ruled that the immediate deportation of migrants who swam into Ceuta and Melilla was not permissible, and that only those who attempted to enter by climbing existing border barriers — such as border fences — could be immediately returned.