Social media rumours, economic struggles fuel migrant rush into Ceuta

Ceuta. Social media videos, economic hardship and hopes for a better future have driven thousands of migrants to attempt crossing into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta in the largest surge recorded in recent years.

For 16-year-old Moroccan Ayoub El Abyad, the decision began with videos he watched on Instagram showing migrants making their way into Ceuta. Together with his cousin, who was still 12 hours away from the border, he decided to take the risk.

“Migration is about improving our lives. We agreed we would try the idea of crossing and trust in Allah,” Mr El Abyad told Reuters near the Moroccan side of the border after completing the journey by hitching rides with two drivers.

He hoped to become one of about 60,000 people who entered Ceuta from Morocco during the week-long surge.

In Morocco, where anger over poverty and poor public services has fuelled protests, many young people spend years searching for opportunities to leave in pursuit of better prospects.

Official data shows that about a quarter of Moroccans aged between 15 and 24 are not in education, employment or training.

The latest rush was also encouraged by information circulating online about a Spanish Supreme Court ruling earlier in July, which many migrants interpreted as allowing those intercepted at sea while attempting to reach Ceuta or Melilla to remain in Spain.

However, the ruling only ended immediate pushbacks and still allows returns through established legal procedures.

Mauricio Valiente, director of Spanish refugee charity CEAR, said favourable sea conditions during this period also made crossings easier.

“I came here to seek a better future,” said Dounia Kherradi, a waitress from Lqliaa, an area affected by last year’s protests.

“My salary is not enough to take care of my parents and I have a daughter... may God help us,” she said.

Spain responds to surge

Spain’s Socialist government responded firmly to the crossings, with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez describing the movement as a “violation of Spanish sovereignty” and promising faster returns of migrants to their countries of origin.

The Foreign Ministry blamed misleading information online suggesting that migrants arriving by sea would automatically be allowed to remain in Spain.

Mr Sánchez said the government was considering changes to immigration laws to strengthen repatriation measures. As an immediate response, Spain announced plans to install maritime buoys to mark the border at sea.

Tensions with Morocco

The surge has also raised questions over whether Moroccan authorities failed to prevent the crossings, with analysts pointing to previous occasions when migration was allegedly used as a political pressure tool.

The last major incident occurred in May 2021, when Moroccan authorities appeared to ease border controls, a move widely viewed as linked to tensions over Spain’s decision to host a Western Sahara independence leader.

Morocco does not recognise Spanish sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla, territories it considers “occupied” despite being under Spanish control for centuries.

Relations between Madrid and Rabat have improved in recent years after Spain supported Morocco’s autonomy proposal for Western Sahara, a territory also claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.

However, Haizam Amirah-Fernandez, director of the Centre for Contemporary Arab Studies in Madrid, said recent developments, including Mr Sánchez’s visit to Algeria and Spain’s approval of a bill granting nationality to descendants of Sahrawis, may have angered Morocco.

“One way of handling that is to send a not very subtle message,” he said.

Morocco’s government has not responded to several requests for comment on the crossings.

Some commentators noted that the highest number of crossings occurred during Throne Day, a major Moroccan public holiday marking King Mohammed VI’s coronation anniversary, when many government offices were closed.

However, Lahcen Haddad, who chairs a Moroccan parliamentary committee on European Union relations, rejected suggestions that politics played a role.

He supported Spain’s explanation that misinformation surrounding the court ruling was the main driver of the crossings.

Spain’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that relations with Morocco remained “excellent” and had not been affected by its relationship with Algeria.