Spain has been facing a crisis with potentially unpredictable consequences since Thursday, when thousands of Moroccans launched an unprecedented mass crossing into Ceuta, the Spanish enclave on the northern coast of Africa.

According to Spanish media reports, this is the worst migration crisis since 2014, when 14,000 illegal immigrants from Morocco arrived in Ceuta over a four-day period. This time, the number is estimated to have reached at least 20,000, although, according to sources from the city administration, “it is impossible to know with certainty how many have arrived.” The latest death toll stands at 19 people who died while attempting to reach Spanish – and therefore European – territory. Sources from Spain’s Civil Guard are accusing Morocco of “tolerating” the situation.

“We had known for days that thousands of young men were arriving from every corner of Morocco. They could have dispersed them and keep them away from the border, as they had done in the past when they knew there were groups of hundreds of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa near the border fence. But, as five years ago, they did not want to do so this time either. There was tolerance. Cooperation in recent days was limited to recovering those who were swimming toward the border, whom we were pointing out while they were still in the middle of the sea. Yesterday, the gates of Ceuta finally opened,” the source told El Mundo.

“It was entirely predictable and no measures were taken. For more than a week, more than 200 people have been arriving every day by swimming. Since nothing was done, people organised themselves and decided to cross,” the same source added.

At the same time, however, the Spanish government’s response has also been criticised as delayed. According to El País, at the time when hundreds of illegal migrants were arriving in waves in Ceuta, only 55 police and coast guard officers were present in the area to respond.

Although the city had descended into chaos from 9 a.m., with thousands of illegals moving unpredictably through the streets of Ceuta, and its president, Juan Jesus Vivas of the People’s Party (PP), had immediately requested the deployment of the army, the request was rejected. It took eight hours before Pedro Sanchez’s government announced the deployment of military forces and the reinforcement of the Civil Guard.

Morocco’s Measures: Too Little Too Late

Following Thursday’s scenes, Moroccan authorities announced that they were setting up checkpoints one kilometre from the Ceuta border fence, while the situation was also becoming increasingly tense in Melilla, the second Spanish enclave in North Africa.

Rabat and Madrid announced that illegal immigrants who had entered Spanish territory illegally would be returned to Morocco, although this announcement has not reduced the pressure, according to the EFE news agency.

According to the same source, the surge was also triggered by rumours that the border with Spain had been opened for those without the necessary documents. This information was aided by the recent announcement of the Spanish government that more than 500.000 illegal immigrants would receive legal documents, a move that brought outrage to the Spanish people.

People’s Party Calls for Tougher Migration Law

Spain’s People’s Party (PP) called on Friday for amendments to the Migration Law to ensure the implementation of a policy of “immediate returns at the border.”

According to the party’s statement, the PP is calling, among other measures, for “the policy of returns at the border to also apply to maritime arrivals to Ceuta and Melilla, as provided for in the bill we submitted on July 16.”

It is recalled that in April, the Sánchez government launched a major program to legalise migrants without residence permits, potentially affecting “around half a million people” and intended to support the Spanish economy.

“This regularisation is above all an act of bringing residence status into line with reality. It means recognising the reality of approximately half a million people who are already part of our daily lives,” the Spanish prime minister wrote at the time in his letter to the public.