Ceuta regional leader Juan Jesus Vivas said on Thursday (Aug. 6) that at least 100 people died during the mass crossings from Morocco into the Spanish North African territory. He spoke at a hearing before the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs in Brussels.
Vivas said between 3,000 and 5,000 migrants remain in Ceuta, a place he described as still reeling from last week's crossings.
EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner, also at the hearing, said Spain had assured the EU the crisis would not affect the Schengen agreement – the bloc's passport-free travel zone. However, he warned the Ceuta events exposed a deeper weakness: European border security depends too heavily on cooperation from a single neighbor.
“As long as control depends on the goodwill of a neighboring country, we remain… vulnerable,” Brunner said.
According to Spanish authorities, about 72,000 migrants swam or walked from Morocco into Ceuta over two days last week – Thursday and Friday – one of the largest migrant flows into EU territory in recent years. Vivas called it an “invasion,” noting the number nearly equals Ceuta's total population of over 80,000.
The Spanish government declined to attend the hearing; the European Commission sent representatives instead.
Vivas said two migrant reception centers in Ceuta – one for adults, one for unaccompanied minors – are “overwhelmed,” and authorities cannot provide exact numbers of migrants still in the city due to lack of resources. He also said local officials had warned Madrid about rising crossings before the surge, but their warnings were not acted upon, and Moroccan authorities refused to cooperate with Ceuta throughout the crisis.
On Monday, Morocco rejected blame for the crossings, arguing Spain should have anticipated the consequences of a court ruling allowing migrants who swim in to avoid immediate deportation if they do not cross the physical border fence.
Vivas said security forces have not been deployed “with the necessary intensity” in the city. He called for immediate deportation of illegal immigrants, though said unaccompanied minors can only be returned with their consent. He also admitted local authorities have no information on whether previously deported extremists were among the new arrivals.
“Our border is very loose and vulnerable,” Vivas stressed.
