Hundreds of ‘swimmer’ migrants attempt to cross border in thick fog

Ceuta is overtaken by the phenomenon of “swimming” migrants who are trying to cross the border under thick fog and using floats. The autonomous city has asked for “help” in the face of the enormous migratory pressure it has been experiencing in recent days, with a daily average of 500 Moroccans and Algerians who want to swim irregularly to the beach of El Tarajal. Just this Sunday they tried it 1,500 peoplemany of whom were expelled by Civil Guard and National Police officers due to the altercations that occurred.

All through Sunday, andI The Maritime Service and GEAS, together with the GRS and coastal patrols, continually intercepted the Many minors managed to swim across from Morocco, taking advantage of the dense fog that covered the coast of the southern border of Ceuta, in the region of El Tarajal.

The most tense moments occurred after 7:30 p.m., when Ceuta residents enjoying a day at the beach began to see a group of At at least a dozen children swimming to shore.

The new arrivals mingled with the bathers, causing confusion among the security forces and corps that moved into the area. Before proceeding with the evacuation of the beach, they prevented the people present from walking in order to identify them beforehand in order to verify who were from Ceuta and who were not.

Several bathers expressed their dissatisfaction with the actions of the agents, whom they accused of preventing them from freely leaving the area. In the midst of the tension experienced, a policeman was stoned and had to be taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Attempts to enter Spanish territory illegally continued to be recorded in the early hours of Monday, with just over fifty migrants intercepted. the last 24 hours the authorities of Ceuta Nearly half a thousand Moroccan migrants have been turned back in Morocco.

Ceuta asks for “help”

The situation is critical and reflects the growing migratory pressure facing the autonomous city, where security forces are working intensively to prevent unauthorized entry into Spanish territory.

The number of minors arriving irregularly in Ceuta is particularly striking. In August alone, more than 230 miners did so.bringing the annual total to around 650.

After a busy morning at the border, the president of Ceuta, Juan Vivaswas forced to launch, once again, a “help” message and to demand the provision of more resources to state security forces and organs after a day of “enormous pressure” on migration that continues today.

Vivas thanked the “excellence” of the Spanish authorities and the “collaboration” of Morocco, which worked to contain “the avalanche that hung over Ceuta or the attempt to reach Ceuta of the order of 300 or 350 people“, according to data provided by the Government Delegation in Ceuta.

The president, who appeared before the media on Monday, indicated that the reception centers run by his government had passed to have 150 minors elderly migrants in January this year to the 475 who now residealthough it has the ability to serve 132 properly.

“The collapse of our reception capacities is evident“It’s obvious, it’s indisputable,” he said before insisting on his intention to direct some of these miners towards the peninsula.

This request for “help” from the President of Ceuta is not new. Already on August 15, in a letter sent to the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez; to the Minister of Youth and Children, Sira Rego; to the Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres; and to the regional presidents, Vivas formally requested the Executive and the CCAA a “solidarity and responsible” response in the face of the “unsustainable” situation generated by the massive arrival of migrant minors.

“In shock from a genuine human tragedy, the city of Ceuta is completely overwhelmed in its capacity to assist and welcome unaccompanied migrant minors who arrive in our city and, consequently, in Spain and Europe,” he explained in his letter.

Among other data, he highlighted that the number of migrant minors exceeds reception capacity by 360 percent that, due to its size and other variables, it corresponds to Ceuta, that so far this year the number of arrivals has increased sixfold compared to 2023 and that the autonomous city welcomes five unaccompanied minors per thousand inhabitants, while the national average does not reach 0.001.

“Extreme” migratory pressure

For her part, the Government Delegate in Ceuta, Cristina Perez, acknowledged that the city is experiencing a situation of “extreme” migratory pressurewith a average entry attempts of 500 people from Morocco and Algeria in the last few hours, “which has completely submerged Ceuta.”

The delegate reported that the facilities of the Temporary Stay Center for Immigrants (CETI) are well above capacity, with around 800 residents despite 512 places.

The Delegation is also working in collaboration with the local government and the Ministry of Youth and Children to have new spaces for the reception of minors if necessary. “There are structures that can be created to accommodate minors and we are working on it,” he told the media, in the midst of the migratory pressure that the city has been experiencing for several days.

The average number of returns per day varies between 150 and 200 peopleas part of the agreement that allows the Spanish authorities to transfer Moroccan men arriving irregularly in Ceuta to their country.

Perez acknowledged that the migratory pressure currently being suffered by Ceuta “It’s extreme and very high“, and this puts to the test the system that makes up the city” and, ultimately, the state.” He thanked the response offered by the state security forces and agencies to the migratory phenomenon that we know about.

More police resources and means

On the other hand, the Unified Association of Civil Guards (AUGC) has asked the Ministry of the Interior to urgently increase the means and resources of the police at the El Tarajal border post to deal with the constant arrival of minor migrants from Morocco.

“The agents are overtaken by the phenomenon of “swimmers”which is repeated continuously, taking advantage of the dense fog in the area and the border breakwaters,” Pedro Carmona, national spokesman of the AUGC, told Europa Press.

For this reason, he requested that the resources and resources of the Civil Guard be urgently increased at this “critical border crossing”, because the phenomenon of “swimmer” migrants, many of whom are minors, “has seriously escalated in recent weeks.”

“The situation is very worrying.” continued the AUGC spokesperson, who recalls that this is happening while the agents are still not considered workers at risk and “are continually exposed to risks at the border as if they were human barriers to stop illegal crossing.”