MADRID, Aug. 2, 2026: Spain has announced plans to install a 500-metre (1,640-foot) floating barrier along the coastline of its North African enclave of Ceuta following a massive influx of migrants that overwhelmed the autonomous city in recent days, The New York Times reported.
According to Spain’s Ministry of the Interior, the inflatable floating barrier will extend approximately one metre below the water’s surface and will be reinforced by an additional line of anchored naval buoys to strengthen maritime border surveillance.
The move comes after tens of thousands of migrants crossed into Ceuta from neighboring Morocco in one of the largest border crossings the enclave has witnessed in recent years.
The Interior Ministry said an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 migrants entered Ceuta within a 24-hour period. By Friday afternoon, authorities had returned at least 48,300 people to Morocco, while several hundred others left the enclave voluntarily.
Spanish officials have not clarified what measures will be taken regarding migrants who remain in Ceuta.
A spokesperson for the Spanish government in Ceuta said at least 67 people died in recent days while attempting to reach the city, underscoring the humanitarian toll of the migration crisis.
The latest developments have prompted more than 20 European Union member states to call on the European Commission to convene an emergency meeting of EU interior ministers to discuss the situation.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has also written to the European Commission defending his government’s migration policy. He said the floating barrier would create a visible maritime obstacle at the border and argued that human traffickers had exploited what he described as a misinterpretation of a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling to encourage irregular migration.
Meanwhile, hundreds of migrants from other African countries remain stranded on Ceuta’s beaches. Many insist they are not Moroccan nationals and therefore cannot legally be returned to Morocco. Some also complained that they had not received food since Thursday.
Among them is 24-year-old Sudanese migrant Kamal Omar, who said he fled Sudan following the outbreak of civil war in 2023 and reached Morocco last year before attempting to enter Ceuta.
“I do not want to return to Morocco. Please protect us,” Omar said.
Human Rights Watch expressed concern over Spain’s border security plan. Judith Sunderland, the organization’s associate director for Europe and Central Asia focusing on refugee and migrant rights, questioned how authorities would respond if migrants attempted to swim across the floating barrier.
She also recalled the 2014 Ceuta tragedy, in which at least 15 migrants died after security forces fired rubber bullets during an attempted border crossing, warning that any new security measures must fully comply with international human rights standards.
Source: The New York Times