The illegal immigration crisis in the Spanish exclave Ceuta prompted calls for tougher border measures and a crackdown on human trafficking.
By Catholics for Catholics
Days after nearly 60,000 migrants from Morocco invaded a small Spanish town by land and sea, interior ministers from the European Union showed support for Spain Tuesday, after the deadly surge left more than 80 people dead during the effort.
The EU interior ministers called for stronger borders, faster returns, and expanded efforts to dismantle migrant-smuggling networks, according to a story by the Epoch Times.
EU member states and countries linked with the Schengen passport-free travel area lauded Spain’s response and gave their condolences for those who died while trying the crossing.
“The EU is united and stands ready to support Spain and protect our external borders from illegal migration,” Jim O’Callaghan, Ireland’s minister for justice, home affairs, and migration, said in a statement.
“We commend Spain for their swift response to the situation in Ceuta and extend our deepest condolences for the tragic loss of life.”
Spanish officials, the European Commission, and the European External Action Service briefed ministers on the state of affairs in Ceuta, a Spanish exclave in North Africa that forms part of the EU’s only land border with the continent.
The incredible influx started on July 30, when about 50,000 to 60,000 people entered Ceuta from Morocco by land and sea. Some swam around a border breakwater after social media posts claimed that Spain had opened its border.
Authorities from Spain and Morocco reported that about 80 people died on both sides of the border. Some drowned while trying to swim to Ceuta, while others were crushed or trampled during frenzied efforts to climb a breakwater and border fence.
The ministers agreed that the bloc should continue fighting migrant-smuggling networks, increase returns of illegal immigrants, strengthen its external borders, and deepen partnerships with countries of origin and transit.
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