Spain asks Frontex for help in processing Ceuta migrants

Spain has asked for help from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) in processing migrants who crossed into Ceuta last month and still remain in the North African Spanish territory.

Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska sent a request to Beate Gminder, the European Commission’s director general for migration and home affairs, to help with screening migrants in Ceuta.

Madrid has also requested 10 more Frontex officers to help with the screening.

Frontex is the European Union agency responsible for managing the bloc’s external borders and fighting cross-border crime.

Why is Spain asking for help with the Ceuta migrants?

Over 70,000 migrants crossed from Morocco to Ceuta illegally in late July. The incident triggered a massive EU migration emergency and brought Spain’s leftist government much criticism.

Though the majority of people were quickly sent back to Morocco, at least 5,000 migrants still remain in the Spanish territory of roughly 80,000 residents.

Madrid cannot deport the remaining migrants quickly as a collective return without individual assessment is prohibited under international law and Spanish court rulings.

Rising anger against migrants in Ceuta

Ceuta’s residents loudly reject the migrants’ continued presence and have made their voice heard via protests which have sometimes turned violent.

Spain has ruled out moving the migrants into the mainland as that would invite further criticism from the opposition as well as some EU members.

Migrants have set up camp on Trampolin Beach, where some tents have been attacked and set on fire amid the residents’ rising anger.

On Thursday, protests turned violent with 12 migrants arrested after stoning an army vehicle, injuring one soldier and other migrants. Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that 11 migrants were expelled from the territory, citing sources from the city’s main court.

Edited by: Sean Sinico

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