Thousands of migrants have headed back home after they stormed the beaches of a Spanish city in northern Africa – an onslaught officials are blaming on social media.
The Migrant Crisis
As reported on Monday’s AM Update, authorities in Spain said many of the tens of thousands of migrants who crossed into the Spanish city of Ceuta late last week have been escorted back to Morocco. Ceuta, which is part of Spain, is located on the African continent across the Strait of Gibraltar from the mainland.
At least 72 people died attempting the crossing, as officials are investigating what triggered the sudden surge. According to the BBC, many migrants, most of whom were young Moroccan men, reportedly acted on social media posts falsely promising easy entry into Europe.
Multiple accounts viewed by the British broadcaster showed young people in wetsuits and flippers filming themselves already swimming, mixed with pictures from inside Ceuta. Some of those accounts had only been active for weeks but still had tens of thousands of likes.
While many of the migrants appeared to have been attracted by the posts, some seemingly had no idea why they came at all when speaking to the media. “To be honest, I don’t even know why I’ve come. I’m heading back now. It’s that simple. Let God’s will be done,” one man told Reuters.
Tensions in Europe
The surge of Moroccan migrants into Spain reignited the immigration discussion across Europe. The country’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he considers the migrant surge an “attack” on his country that “deserves our strongest reproach and our firmest condemnation.”
Sánchez went on to criticize some European Union partners for their reaction to the crisis. He took particular issue with Italy, who he claimed politicized the incident instead of offering support. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni posted pictures of the crisis in Ceuta with the caption, “This is the Sánchez model the Italian left wing likes so much.”
Meloni called for joint action from other EU countries “to strengthen external borders, combat irregular immigration, fight human traffickers, make returns more effective, and eliminate any factor that could incentivize new illegal entries.”
The Italian prime minister’s call to eliminate policies that are “pull factors” to Europe was signed by almost two dozen EU heads of state.
The U.S. Reponds
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department raised its travel warning for the Spanish enclave and urged Americans to reconsider going there after the massive migrant surge. The new Level 3 advisory highlights the “unpredictable and dangerous” conditions.
Last week, President Trump described the scenes in Ceuta as a “catastrophe” and an “invasion” and warned it could preview challenges for the United States. “That same thing is going to happen to us if the Republicans don’t get elected, except worse, much bigger, much easier to get into,” he said.
“If we’re not in office, our country will be invaded at levels that make Spain look small time,” the president continued. “When you look at what happened to Spain, they don’t know what to do… They’re coming in by the tens of thousands. They’re just invading the country. And what that is, is weak law, bad management, but very liberal law.”
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