Sánchez denounces a "violation of the territorial integrity" of the State due to the crisis in Ceuta

MadridThe migration crisis in Ceuta far exceeds that of 2021. "It is a violation of Spain's territorial integrity. Ceuta is a Spanish city and yesterday's events deserve all rejection and condemnation," stated the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, this Friday from Ceuta, where he traveled urgently with the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska. After meeting with authorities, Sánchez announced an "immediate repatriation" of irregular migrants, although he did not specify how or when. "It will be as soon as possible," he indicated. "It is urgent to restore normality and above all not to put coexistence at risk," he said at a press conference.

One of the questions that lingers is what lies behind it, and here the right and left clash. As do the Spanish government and the opposition. While Pedro Sánchez's executive links it to "criminal mafias [...] that traffic many young people," in the words of the Spanish Prime Minister himself, the PP of Alberto Núñez Feijóo, but also Vox, have not hesitated to point to the extraordinary regularization process launched by the central executive, which ended on June 30. "This crisis has nothing to do with the approved migrant regularization, as is falsely being said from some quarters," sources from the Ministry of the Interior indicated on Thursday night. From the Ministry of Social Security and Migration, they add that "it is evident that anyone who tries to link the current situation [in Ceuta and Melilla] with the [regularization] procedure is simply lying or wants to fuel a false rumor for some particular interest," indicate sources from that department.

"This is the result of not having a migration policy. Of giving away papers to everyone and suddenly regularizing more than a million migrants," denounced the Secretary General of the PP, Miguel Tellado, at a press conference this Friday from Asturias.

The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, arrived in Ceuta with the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, on Friday morning. Both met with local and regional authorities and with the State security forces. Previously, the head of the Spanish executive had a conversation with Felipe VI and the President of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vives, to analyze the migration crisis, according to EFE sources.

Meanwhile, the death toll of migrants attempting to swim from Morocco to Ceuta continues to rise, reaching almost thirty by midday on Friday. The border is also in collapse, with people continuing to arrive—an estimated 49,000 migrants have entered since Thursday—including families with minors. Both Ceuta and Melilla borders have been closed coinciding with the so-called Operation Passage to the Strait, which runs from June 15 to September 15, and had marked August 1 and 2 as a critical weekend.

In this context, the right and far-right have also launched a strong criticism against the Spanish government's management in Ceuta in recent hours. The PP, in addition to criticizing the regularization of migrants and calling for a reform of the current immigration law, is calling for a declaration of national emergency—this has also been demanded by the president of Ceuta and by parties like Podem. At the same time, the Popular Party has registered a request in Congress for the urgent appearance of Pedro Sánchez due to the "very serious migratory crisis situation." Furthermore, it has registered the request for the convocation of the Permanent Deputation so that an extraordinary plenary session can be held "as soon as possible."