Migrant pressure is overwhelming Ceuta and the authorities are totally concerned. Migrants have been arriving by swimming to the Ceuta area of Tarajal continuously since Sunday afternoon, which has led to a reinforcement of troops on the border with Morocco. The arrival has been so massive that the Police and the Civil Guard have cordoned off the entire area. The migrants mingled with the bathers and there have been moments of great tension. The security forces are on high alert and 1,500 people tried to enter this Sunday alone.
Ceuta is asking for help in the face of this situation, and the Government delegate in Ceuta, Cristina Pérez, acknowledged yesterday that the city is experiencing a situation of “extreme” migratory pressure, with an average of 500 people from Morocco and Algeria attempting to enter per day in the last few hours, “which has Ceuta totally overwhelmed.”
The delegate reported that the facilities of the Temporary Immigrant Stay Centre are far above their capacity, with around 800 residents despite having 512 places, reports Ep. The Delegation is also working with the local Government and the Ministry of Youth to have new spaces to accommodate minors. “There are facilities that can be set up to accommodate minors and we are working on that,” she said in an appearance before the media in the midst of the migratory pressure that the city has been experiencing for days.
The average number of people returned per day is between 150 and 200, under the agreement that allows the Spanish authorities to return Moroccan men who arrive illegally in Ceuta to their country. Pérez acknowledged that the migratory pressure that Ceuta is currently under “is extreme and very high,” and that it is putting the system that makes up the city “and the State” to the test. He thanked the response offered by the State Security Forces and Corps to the migratory phenomenon that is being experienced. For his part, the president of Ceuta, Juan Vivas, again asked for “help” and requested more resources for the State Security Forces and Corps after a day that he described as one of “enormous pressure” in regard to the migratory crisis. In this way, the president of Ceuta demanded support from the State, from the autonomous communities and again insisted on this request for “help from the Executive after a week since he requested urgent help from the Government in the face of the saturation of the centers for migrant minors.
Meanwhile, the delegate reported that the resources available to the Civil Guard have been reinforced, and highlighted the work of the National Police, as well as that of the Minors area. Pérez also expressed her “special gratitude” to the Moroccan authorities. “I want to thank them from this Government Delegation.” She insisted on the value of the work of the Moroccans, “because they are not only deploying the resources to contain this migration, but they are admitting those people who must be returned to their country of origin.”
The delegate stressed that “without its help, the situation would be much more complicated” and stated that “the commitment of the Government of Spain exists and is for and to preserve the interests of the city of Ceuta with all the guarantees that the legal bodies offer it.”
For its part, the Unified Association of Civil Guards (AUGC) yesterday expressed its deep concern about the growing migratory pressure in the autonomous city of Ceuta, particularly with regard to the phenomenon of “swimmers” and called for urgent reinforcements. According to the AUGC, the situation at this border point has significantly worsened in recent weeks, which has led to the agents deployed in the area being overwhelmed.
This situation continues to entrench the political landscape, where the blockage on how to solve the migration crisis does not arrive. The PSOE yesterday again accused the PP of keeping the solution to the migratory pressure in the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla “at a standstill” with its vote against. The socialists ask their leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, to make clear whether he shares the position of Vox and Luis Alvise Pérez on immigration. For his part, the PP spokesman, Borja Sémper, admitted that his party does not see an agreement possible to reform the Immigration Law. “If we stick to what the Government does and says, unfortunately, there is no possibility of agreement because the Government does not pay attention, ignores, looks the other way,” lamented Sémper. For the populars it is not just about distributing the minors, but that “we must attend to those people who come to Spain looking for a better future.” For the party, the “Government is kicking the can down the road. The ball arrives, Sánchez, faced with a problem, kicks it forward and when we get to the ball we will see how we kick it forward again and he treats the migrants like packages,” he denounced.