Hundreds of migrants flood into Spain's Ceuta exclave from Morocco

Hundreds of migrants, many of them children, entered Spain's North African exclave of Ceuta on Thursday by swimming from Morocco, prompting Madrid to deploy soldiers to bolster border security. The Spanish interior ministry announced that the Armed Forces would reinforce the Civil Guard, nearly doubling its presence in the small territory.

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The Armed Forces will reinforce the Civil Guard in the exercise of its powers and any others that may be necessary to maintain security in the city of Ceuta

Authorities confirmed the recovery of nine bodies of migrants who died while attempting the perilous sea crossing. Discarded flotation devices and clothing were found on the shore, stark evidence of the dangerous journey undertaken by those seeking to reach European soil.

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I am in favour of closing the Schengen area with Spain. Irregular and uncontrolled immigration poses a danger to national security.

The influx has reignited political tensions between Spain and Morocco, countries that have long navigated the sensitive issue of migration. This event marks the largest inflow of people into Ceuta since May 2021, when over 10,000 migrants arrived in a two-day period. The president of Ceuta warned that reception centers are already saturated.

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The images coming from Ceuta show how the Madrid Government's decision to grant Spanish, and therefore European, citizenship to over 500,000 irregular immigrants is profoundly wrong and encourages human trafficking

In response to the situation, Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani advocated for Spain's suspension from the open-borders Schengen zone. He argued that "irregular and uncontrolled immigration poses a danger to national security" and criticized Spain's decision to grant citizenship to over 500,000 irregular immigrants, which he believes encourages human trafficking.

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There is no more room for anyone