World News
Spain requests Frontex assistance to screen migrants remaining in Ceuta
Around 5,000 migrants remain in the North African exclave after tens of thousands crossed from Morocco in late July, triggering local protests.
The short version
- Spain asked the EU border agency Frontex for assistance and 10 additional officers to help screen an estimated 5,000 migrants remaining in Ceuta.
- More than 70,000 migrants illegally entered the Spanish exclave from Morocco in late July, though most were swiftly returned.
- Legal rulings and international law prevent collective deportations without individual case evaluations, leaving remaining migrants in temporary camps amid violent local protests.
- The Spanish government has ruled out transferring the migrants to the mainland to avoid further political backlash.
Key facts
- Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska sent a request for Frontex assistance to Beate Gminder, the European Commission's director general for migration and home affairs.[Deutsche Welle]
- Spain has asked for 10 additional Frontex officers to assist with processing and screening migrants in the territory.[Deutsche Welle]
- Over 70,000 migrants illegally crossed from Morocco into Ceuta in late July, with around 5,000 still remaining in the city of roughly 80,000 residents.[Deutsche Welle]
- International law and Spanish court decisions ban collective deportations without individual screening, stalling quick returns.[Deutsche Welle]
- Local protests against the migrants' presence turned violent, resulting in 12 migrant arrests after a military vehicle was pelted with stones, injuring a soldier and other migrants.[Deutsche Welle]
What remains uncertain
- How quickly Frontex will deploy officers and process the remaining 5,000 migrants in Ceuta.[Deutsche Welle]