60,000 migrants crossed into Spanish territory of Ceuta, but many soon left voluntarily

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A crisis at the border in Ceuta, a tiny Spanish territory in North Africa, has resulted in unsubstantiated claims about Spain’s migration policies and the causes of the border surge at the territory’s frontier with Morocco. Some 60,000 migrants entered Ceuta from Morocco on Thursday and Friday, local Spanish officials have said, equivalent to 70% of the city’s regular population. At least 41 migrants died attempting the crossing either by drowning while trying to swim to Spanish territory or in a stampede.

___ CLAIM: Spain’s move to legalize the status of immigrants caused the rush. THE FACTS: Spain’s government is carrying out an amnesty for immigrants without residency permits who could prove they had been living in the country for at least five months and arrived before Jan. Over 1 million people applied before the window closed at the end of last month.

President Donald Trump and his administration, say that the amnesty sparked the rush to the Ceuta border by sending the message that Spain is lenient on migrants. Spain’s “weak law, bad management” was to blame, Trump said Friday. State Department doubled down in a post on X, saying that “this unacceptable incident is the direct result of the Spanish Government’s deliberate efforts to enable and facilitate mass illegal migration into Europe.” Spain’s government strongly rejects that premise, saying that criminal gangs were behind the border crisis.

Madrid has tried to maintain a hard line on illegal attempts to cross its borders while encouraging orderly arrivals of workers, who the government says are needed to keep up the country’s strong economy. Poverty and youth unemployment are high in neighboring Morocco, particularly away from coastal cities that have experienced some development in recent years. Gen Z-led protests last year called for social justice and better public services.

The inequality has prompted many young Moroccans to attempt to leave for Europe in search of better economic opportunities. Still, it isn’t fully clear what caused the sudden surge in crossings at Ceuta. CLAIM: A misconstrued Spanish court ruling is to blame.

THE FACTS: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has pushed the argument that a recent ruling by Spain’s Supreme Court had been intentionally misconstrued by migrant smugglers… CEUTA, Spain (AP) — About 60,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into Spain’s tiny Ceuta territory in the past 24 hours, Ceuta's president said Friday, a figure that is equivalent to 70% of the population of the city in North Africa. At least 57 migrants died on the journey.But roughly half of the people who made the crossing soon made their way back voluntarily, the Spanish government said, after the sudden arrival of so many migrants triggered chaos and a humanitarian crisis.Some migrants swam several miles through the sea and faced down authorities who tried to turn them back with water cannons, tear gas and warning shots.