Ceuta demands that the State act after another night of "absolute migratory emergency"

BarcelonaWith a balance of at least one fatality and dozens of illegal entries, the Civil Guard described this night as a new day of "great migratory pressure" in Ceuta. It is mainly young Moroccans and Algerians who threw themselves into the sea early this morning from the Moroccan coasts of Castillejos to try to reach the Ceuta coastline by swimming. The Spanish police estimate that there were more than 200, of whom at least one has lost their life in the attempt and their body has been located in the sea, near the Ceuta coastline. In the last ten days, the president of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas (PP), assures that between 1,500 and 2,000 have arrived in the autonomous city.

The authorities of Ceuta consider that this situation exceeds their response capacity and, therefore, they request more resources or that the central government assume management. Vivas has called on the Spanish government to declare a "national emergency" and assume a "single command" in the face of the migratory crisis, which he has described as an "absolute humanitarian and social emergency". "[The situation] calls for consistent action through a single command that guarantees that the response is energetic, decisive, and immediate," the Ceuta president declared on various radio stations this Thursday.

Vivas stressed that between 1,500 and 2,000 people have arrived in the city in the last ten days. "For the rest of Spain to get an idea, it is equivalent to 2% of the entire population of Ceuta. It is as if a million people had entered Spain by sea and irregularly in 10 days," Vivas explained in statements to la Ser. "In the attempt to reach Ceuta, 60 bodies have appeared in the sea during the last month. On the other hand, this crisis has an impact on the population which, justifiably, feels vulnerable and insecure," he indicated.

The Ceuta president pointed out that the overcrowding of the minors' area is 2,400% and the number of migrants outside the temporary reception center for adults is higher than the number of migrants inside. In fact, on Wednesday Vivas had already warned precisely about the number of unaccompanied minors being housed in the city. Specifically, he explained that there were 570, of whom 102 had arrived swimming from Morocco in the previous 24 hours and 360 had done so in the last two weeks.

For all this, Juan Jesús Vivas has requested "the financial support of the State, to intensify collaboration with Morocco and to reinforce the security forces in personnel and resources". "What we are experiencing is a situation of national emergency. The border is Spain's and also Europe's, which is why it must be addressed as a national emergency through decisive, forceful, immediate and coordinated action with a single command," Vivas pointed out.

On the other hand, sources from the Secretariat of State for Migration have explained that they are in permanent communication and coordination with both the Government Delegation of Ceuta and the Ministry of the Interior, as well as with the rest of the actors involved to deal with the arrival of migrants in Ceuta. They assure that humanitarian attention is being provided to the migrants who have arrived in Ceuta and "periodic transfers to the Peninsula are being made in accordance with current legislation".

An intense night

Between this Wednesday and Thursday, both the Moroccan Royal Navy and the Civil Guard forces have been overwhelmed trying to contain this attempted entry, which has led to dozens of migrants being able to reach the Spanish coast, including two young women, as Efe has been able to confirm. The migrants used neoprene suits and floats to make the crossing and reach the coast.

All the Moroccans headed to the National Police facilities, where they were identified. Subsequently, they were transferred to the Temporary Immigrant Stay Center (CETI), which is completely saturated. The migrants are young people between 16 and 30 years old, according to Efe, and they all make the crossing in small groups.

The night also brought bad news in Malaga. Maritime Rescue found the body of a person, a young man between 20 and 25 years old, who drowned while trying to reach the State by swimming. The young man was wearing a swimsuit, neoprene, and an alert, and was found by a sailboat off the port of La Duquesa in the municipality of Manilva. It is the fourth person found dead this week on the Malaga coast, with three more victims on Tuesday, and it is believed that all the bodies correspond to migrants who were trying to swim to Ceuta, but the current dragged them to Malaga.

The Supreme's effect?

It hasn't even been a month since a ruling by the Supreme Court confirmed that pushbacks of migrants attempting to reach Spain by swimming are illegal, expressly distinguishing them from the specific regulations surrounding the Melilla fence. This Wednesday, a few hours before the night that sparked calls for "emergency," the president of Melilla, Juan José Imbroda, raised the potential impact of this ruling. According to Imbroda, in the last month Melilla has registered 80% more irregular entries of foreign minors, and he attributed this to the Supreme Court's ruling.