Spain is considering declaring a state of emergency after, for several weeks, around 300 people per day have been swimming from Morocco to the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta.
Groups of migrants have been reaching Tarajal Beach either by swimming or using inflatable tubes. Members of the deployed Civil Guard have been unable to cope with the overwhelming numbers, as the migrants begin running toward the city as soon as they reach the shore.
Ceuta, a city of just 84,000 residents, has seen its reception system completely overwhelmed by the influx of people arriving illegally.
Not everyone succeeds in reaching the Spanish coast. Over the past few months, more than 60 bodies have been recovered from the sea.
In response to the growing number of arrivals, Spanish human rights organizations have called on the government in Madrid to declare a nationwide state of emergency and assume centralized control over the management of the crisis in the autonomous city. However, the Ministry of the Interior has rejected this proposal.
According to ministry sources, Spain’s national civil protection legislation does not classify migration flows as a risk within the National Civil Protection System. As a result, neither this emergency mechanism nor the associated special response plans can be activated.
At the same time, Spain and Morocco have agreed to strengthen coordination between the two countries and review border entry procedures in order to speed up, as much as possible, the transfer of individuals who have entered Ceuta illegally.
