Spain has strengthened police forces at the borders of Ceuta and Melilla, with the government recognizing concern about possible illegal entry of people into both cities on Wednesday, election day in Morocco.
© REUTERS/Jon Nazca
21/09/2026
by
Lusa
Na press conference in Ceuta, Spain’s Minister of Internal Administration, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, said that there are “moments of concern” with “another alert” for September 23, coinciding with the legislative elections in Morocco.
Thus, “preventive” were reinforced the security devices in both cities, Spanish enclaves in North Africa, with three Civil Guard platoons in each of them, the minister said.
Great-Marlaska added that there is also “an important device” operating at information services level, in cooperation with Morocco and the European Union’s External Action Service, to track various sources and assess the level of threat.
The Spanish embassy in Rabat had already launched a campaign today to discourage attempts at illegal entry into Ceuta and Melilla after further appeals began to circulate on social networks for crossings during the Moroccan Wednesday elections.
“ Entering Spain irregularly by Ceuta and Melilla does not guarantee the right to access the Iberian Peninsula, to remain in Spain or to move freely throughout the rest of the European Union,” says the Spanish embassy in Morocco in the ‘online’ campaign.
“Don’t be fooled by false information. The recent Supreme Court decision clarifies the procedure for seafarers. It doesn't change the Immigration Act. It does not declare refusals to enter borders illegal. It does not prevent the return”, adds the campaign, which is also being shared in the accounts of several Spanish consulates in the North African country.
Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares also advanced that his ministry activated “preventive mechanisms” to combat the appeals circulating on social networks.
The initiative coincides with calls on social networks for a new irregular crossing to Ceuta on the 23rd, after the entry of more than 70,000 people into the city in 24 hours on 30 and 31 July.
Although most people who entered illegally in those hours returned to Morocco, several thousand remain in the Spanish city.
According to the most recent data from the Spanish Government, there are about 6,000 adults and 2,000 minors referred to and registered in reception centres, with a view to opening repatriation or asylum procedures, but between 3,000 and 3,500 people are still on the streets, without capacity for accommodation in Ceuta.
The crisis also resulted in at least 140 deaths, according to civil society organizations.