The Crisis in Ceuta Shows: Europe Is No Longer Willing to Tolerate Illegal Migration
The massive influx of illegal migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta has triggered a political crisis. Europe has demonstrated a firm stance, rejecting the policy of open borders, which has placed the Spanish government in a difficult position.
The signs of the massive wave of illegal migrants that washed over the Spanish enclave of Ceuta over the weekend appeared much earlier. All last week, almost daily, several dozen people swam around the breakwater that separates Morocco from Ceuta and were received at the center for asylum seekers. The authorities in Ceuta signaled to Madrid that an emergency situation was developing, and the migrants who entered successfully updated those back home on how easy the crossing was.
Together with a fresh ruling by the Supreme Court of Spain regarding restrictions on deportation, a rumor was created in Morocco that entry into Ceuta had become free. Whoever enters will not be deported and will even be able to move to Europe. "We saw that something was happening, but we did not imagine its scale," Spanish intelligence officers told the newspaper El Pais in retrospect. Social networks in Morocco turned this rumor into one of the events that have shaken Europe more than any other so far this year.
Entry into Spain is the heart's desire of many young Moroccans looking for a better future. Most often, they are required to pay at least a thousand dollars to board a rubber boat on the Moroccan coast and cross the not-so-large distance to Spain. Families save for years to send their children because the authorities in Spain cannot deport those under the age of 18. Now, social networks promised them that entry is free and that the future is open.
The border collapsed; the few forces of the Spanish Civil Guard disappeared under the flood of migrants. The use of weapons to stop entry is prohibited. About 60,000 illegal migrants entered in one day into an enclave where only about 80,000 people live.
The Spanish government at those hours underestimated the depth of the crisis. It ignored the demand of the local government to reinforce the forces, and Madrid rejected the request to declare a state of emergency. Only after the dramatic images of tens of thousands of young people were army forces sent to reinforce the police. Meanwhile, the residents of the enclave took the law into their own hands. Shops were closed and locked, and demonstrations against the migrants made it clear that they were not wanted.
Europe today is not where it was during the refugee crisis of the summer of 2015. The vast majority of the continent's governments have no appetite for illegal migration. Right-wing parties, whether from the UK or Sweden, pounced on the incident and warned that the asylum seekers are "on their way to us." Italy even suspended the Schengen Area free movement agreement with Spain due to this fear. No fewer than 22 European leaders threatened Spain not to allow the entry into Europe of the migrants who crossed into Ceuta.
Sanchez, who sees himself as a beacon of morality and human rights, must be careful not to stretch the rope too much. The images from Ceuta from the weekend should make it clear to countries like Spain that they must take care of their borders, prevent illegal migration, hold the European fortress at its southern border, or absorb the political consequences.
