Approximately 49,000 migrants arrived in Ceuta, Spain, in a single day. Behind this massive influx is a Supreme Court ruling that halted expedited deportations—and the government’s subsequent rejection of the request to declare a state of emergency.
The massive wave of migrants heading toward Ceuta, Spain, has a clear cause. A ruling by Spain’s Supreme Court on July 8 has changed the rules of the game at the border.
Previously, Spanish authorities were able to carry out so-called “direct returns”—immediately sending back people who attempted to enter the country, even by sea. This practice has long been used in Ceuta and Melilla. However, the Supreme Court ruled that it is not legal to turn away people arriving by sea in the same way as at a physical border wall.
When the ruling was announced, the flow of migrants increased
After the ruling was made public, the number of people attempting to enter increased. The president of Ceuta then requested that the Spanish government declare a national state of emergency in order to secure more resources and the ability to take more decisive action. The Ministry of the Interior rejected the request, stating that a state of emergency can only be declared in the event of natural disasters—not in response to migration flows.
When the news of the rejection came, the situation escalated sharply. According to the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, approximately 49,000 migrants arrived in Ceuta over the past 24 hours. Many entered by swimming across the border. Most are young men from countries such as Morocco, Algeria, Mali, Guinea, and Senegal. This is primarily economic migration.
In summary: The court’s ruling eliminated the possibility of rapid pushbacks at sea. When the local request for a state of emergency was subsequently rejected, another obstacle was removed. The result is now evident in the form of a historically large influx of migrants into Ceuta.
