Pedro Sánchez Rushes to Ceuta as Record 49,000 Migrants Trigger Spain's Biggest Border Crisis | AC1G

Ceuta's Unprecedented Migrant Influx [0:10]

• The Supreme Court's lecture has caused a media frenzy regarding human trafficking and a massive influx of migrants into Ceuta.
• This event breaks a consistent, multi-year trend of decreasing irregular migration arrivals in Spain, including Ceuta, Melilla, the Canary Islands, and the Balearic Islands.
• Arrivals had seen significant reductions of 36-37% in the past year and around 40% the year before.

  "And that is the situation, it seems that this lecture of the Supreme Court has gone like the pólvora during these last hours by the media media that trafficking with human beings and has produced an avalanche of the characteristics and of the dimensions that we lived on the day of yesterday."

Urgent Response and Security Measures [2:03]

• A recent surge in migration to Ceuta has led to the habilitation of a new temporary center for migrants (CATE) to manage documentation, triage, and repatriations.
• The Spanish government is augmenting the capacity of the Guardia Civil and National Police by 10%, adding 400 personnel.
• The army has been deployed to guarantee the tranquility and security of Ceuta's residents.

  "In first place, the government of Spain and the minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande Marlaska, has been developing during the last few years, augmenting the capacity of the effective of the Guardia Civil and the Policies National in a media of a 10% in both bodies, we have increased in 400 the number of effective of the Guardia Civil and the Policies that, combined with the spread of the army, the army, and the support of the army, what it pretends is to be in the city Autonomous of Ceuta, in the streets, in the streets, in the places, to guarantee the tranquility and the security of the residents of Ceutis."

Repatriation and Cooperation with Morocco [3:43]

• Efforts are being made to repatriate migrants who entered irregularly, with the asylum commission expediting these processes.
• There is a strong emphasis on cooperation with Morocco to combat human trafficking mafias.
• The crisis has resulted in tragic loss of human lives at the border and in the sea.

  "In third place, what we do is to to to to the repatriation of the migrants that have entered in a regular way, fundamentally, since the day of yesterday."

Comprehensive Migration Policy [5:13]

• Spain's migration policy is central, involving border protection, modernization of border perimeters, and increased security personnel.
• Cooperation with countries of origin and transit, such as Morocco, Mauritania, and Senegal, is crucial in fighting trafficking mafias.
• The policy also includes integration efforts, European-level agreements like the Pact of Migration and Asylum, and development aid to countries of origin.

  "The migrator policy is central to the public policies of Spain. During the last eight years, we have levanted with a lot of effort, with economic resources and with a lot of cooperation with countries of transit and origin, leading important debates, such as, for example, the Pacto of Migration and Asile at the European level, which was done under the European presidency of the European Union in the year 2023."

Support for Ceuta's Economy and Residents [9:48]

• The government is analyzing policies to support small businesses and self-employed individuals in Ceuta affected by the crisis.
• Information is being provided to migrants dispersed throughout the city to encourage voluntary departure.
• The government is committed to restoring normalcy, guaranteeing security, and fostering coexistence in Ceuta.

  "The President of the Autonomous City of Ceuta, also, has told us that, well, there are small businesses that are closing as a consequence of this situation. We are going to analyze what policies we can also habilitate from the Government of Spain to be able to help those tiendas, those small businesses, those autónomos, that, lógicamente, they also see in a difficult situation as a consequence of this crisis that we have suffered in the day of ayer."

Lessons from 2021 Crisis and Morocco's Role [13:45]

• The current situation is compared to a similar crisis in 2021, with an emphasis on collaboration and solidarity.
• The government is seeking intensified cooperation with Morocco to expedite repatriations and recover normalcy.
• Interlocution with Moroccan authorities has been constant and fluid, differing from the 2021 situation.

  "We have experienced experience. We have lived a very similar situation in the year 2021. I think that the collaboration and cooperation with the city of Ceuta was extraordinary. The solidarity of the rest of the territories of the country was also very positive, especially when we talk about menores."

Managing Minority Migrants [17:25]

• Spain has a more secure legal framework for managing the reality of minority migrants.
• The government acknowledges the demand from Moroccan parents for the return of their children after such crises.
• The state is committed to defending the security, coexistence, and prosperity of Ceuta's citizens.

  "Second, if we have had these data of reduction of the arrival of migrants irregulars, it is because we have had a very reasonable collaboration with the countries of origin and of transit."

Commitment to Ceuta's Security and Coexistence [19:44]

• The government assures that it will defend the security and coexistence in Ceuta with the same commitment as any other part of Spain.
• There is no periphery or center when it comes to the security and prosperity of the country's territories.
• The government emphasizes empathy and commitment, highlighting past investments and future plans for Ceuta.

  "Because there is no a perimeter and center when we are talking about the security, the prosperity, the convivence of any territories and cities of our country."