Spain was scrambling Friday to contain a sudden border crisis after tens of thousands of people rushed into its North African territory, with dozens killed and political shock waves spreading across Europe.
The dramatic events were “a violation of Spain’s territorial sovereignty,” Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on a hurried visit to Ceuta, a tiny Mediterranean city at the tip of Africa that shares a border with Morocco.
At least 34 migrants were killed, said Juan Jesús Vivas, the president of the autonomous Spanish exclave.
Spain’s Interior Ministry told NBC News that some 50,000 people had entered Ceuta on Thursday from Morocco. That’s more than half of the city’s usual population.
Around half of that number had returned Friday, the Interior Ministry said.
The mass arrival by sea and land threatened a political crisis for Sánchez, a left-wing, pro-immigration leader who has clashed with President Donald Trump. Trump called the situation “terrible” Friday, while Vice President JD Vance said the scenes were an “unfortunate reminder of the consequences of mass migration and the radical left-wing globalist policies.”
The migrant crossings also fueled rapid alarm across Europe, where the continent’s divisions over immigration were laid bare.
France said it was increasing checks on its border with Spain, and Italy said it was temporarily suspending free movement and passport-free travel arrangements for flights from Spain, a cornerstone of the E.U.’s border-free travel area.
Authorities on both sides of the Ceuta border appeared to be taking action to reinforce it Friday. Spain deployed its military along the coast and roads to control the crowds.
The rush was captured in images and videos that showed migrants swimming or floating on tubes from the Moroccan side Thursday and others breaking through a gate on land and running into the Spanish city.
Most of those who died appear to have drowned, while some were killed in a stampede, humanitarian activists said.
Most of those crossing appeared to be young men, but there were also families with women and small children.
Ahmed Karim, a 33-year-old Moroccan, said he had crossed into Ceuta because of the lack of jobs in his country. “Many people want to go to Europe, America, but they don’t have the opportunity,” Karim said.
Another migrant, Jadid Zacaria, said after the crossing he was “happy” to be in Spain. “It’s been a very tough experience to go from the ocean. It was very tough,” he said.
Spain is a main point of arrival into Europe for migrants seeking better economic opportunities or an escape from violence in their home countries.
Ceuta and Melilla, another Spanish autonomous city in northern Morocco, have the European Union’s only land borders with Africa. The two cities, each home to around 85,000 people, both periodically experience surges in attempted crossings by migrants seeking to reach Europe, but the scale of Thursday’s rush had little precedent.
NBC News reached out to Morocco’s Interior Ministry for comment. It was not immediately clear what prompted so many people to attempt the crossing at the same time.
Authorities in both Ceuta and Madrid linked it to a recent decision by Spain’s Supreme Court that ruled migrants arriving by sea could not be summarily deported, unlike those who cross by land or climb the border fence.
Sánchez said migrant smugglers misinterpreted the ruling but acknowledged that it may have played a role in sowing chaos.
Some activists in Morocco expressed doubt that the ruling was behind the surge, arguing most migrants would have been unaware of such legal decisions.
Migration remains a controversial topic in Europe, especially with the rise of right-wing political forces in some member states of the European Union. Spain has been openly pro-immigration even as some of its neighbors have pursued stricter policies.
Italy’s right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on X that suspending free travel agreements was necessary to “safeguard national security” and prevent any possible repercussions.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said he had issued instructions “to immediately step up checks at the Spanish border.” Nuñez’s statement did not spell out what that meant in practice. There are normally no checks at borders between European Union members.
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said that if she wins an election next year, she would restrict free movement to European nationals.
“In the face of the massive and coordinated influx of migrants into Spain — encouraged by the Spanish government — France must immediately strengthen its border controls,” she said on X.
Meanwhile, Britain’s hard-right leader Nigel Farage said that “before long many will be crossing the English Channel to enter Britain illegally,” condemning a recent Spanish amnesty drive for undocumented migrants.
Sánchez, the Spanish prime minister, has also clashed with leaders beyond the continent.
In a phone interview with Fox News, Trump gave what appeared to be his first public reaction to the deadly migrant rush, calling the situation “terrible.”
Israel, which has smarted at Spanish criticism of its assault on the Gaza Strip, also spoke out.
“Before it continues lecturing us, it’s time it explained to the world why it still maintains colonial enclaves in Africa,” Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the U.N., wrote in a post on X.
