Spain deployed military forces to its Ceuta enclave Friday after thousands of migrants breached the Morocco border fence and swarmed the tiny Spanish territory, leaving at least nine people dead and border officials describing the situation as “absolute chaos.”
The crisis boiled over Thursday when large crowds burst through the frontier at Tarajal beach, with bodies later spotted floating in the water. By Friday morning, Spain’s central government had dispatched the Armed Forces to back up overwhelmed Civil Guard officers already stretched to the limit.
“The situation is absolute chaos,” said Rachid Sbihi, head of the association representing Civil Guard officers policing the Ceuta border. “It’s not possible to give precise numbers, but there are thousands of migrants crossing,” he told the Associated Press. “The border has totally collapsed.”
More than 2,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta in the past 10 days, according to local authorities. Videos circulating online showed crowds of mostly young men wading ashore and sprinting through the streets, some carrying swimming flippers. Others were seen climbing over fences and around breakwaters, laughing and waving for cameras as police struggled to contain them.
Ceuta’s regional president, Juan Jesus Vivas, had formally asked Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to declare a national emergency, requesting the army and additional police reinforcements. Madrid said no. Spain’s Interior Ministry said migration does not qualify as a civil protection emergency under national law and refused to activate emergency measures.
“The Government of Spain is fully committed to providing an immediate response,” Sanchez wrote on X Thursday night, before the military deployment was announced.
The White House did not stay quiet. In a statement, the administration said, “President Trump has long warned Europe what would happen if they continue to implement far-left, globalist policies, including enabling mass migration. Spain and other countries who have adopted this destructive philosophy should immediately reverse course or risk their own demise.”
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) was more direct. “Spain’s socialist Prime Minister announced he would be giving amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. Now, his country is being invaded by hordes of military aged men from Africa,” Gill posted on X. “Because that’s what happens every single time a politician offers amnesty.”
Sanchez’s government launched what it called an “extraordinary regularization” program earlier this year, allowing undocumented migrants already in Spain to obtain legal residency and work permits. Critics called it a mass amnesty. The program drew sharp condemnation from the right and warnings that it would serve as a magnet for future crossings.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni threatened Friday to suspend her country’s open-border Schengen agreement with Spain, saying she would act “to defend our borders and ensure the safety of our citizens,” even though Italy shares no border with Spain.
Spain’s Interior Ministry said the Moroccan government was “closely cooperating” and that Moroccan police were stopping “numerous people” from crossing. Both governments pledged to work together to return those who entered illegally, though no timeline was given.
