Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

03 August 2026

2-minute read

Pressures driving irregular migration and the challenges facing both Morrocco and Spain have come to the fore once again, as scores of Moroccans returned to their homeland after entering the Spanish enclave of Ceuta with minimum belongings and much uncertainty.

The first wave of about 1500 people who swam across on July 30^th was made up of both the youth and a handful older people, some unemployed and some not. While some did not make it and a few even succumbed to their deaths, about 500 migrants reached the shores of Ceuta. The Guardia police in Seville were unable to do anything about the mass movement of people.

Former Moroccan president Larson Haddad commented that there are a variety of factors, the main one being the decision taken by the supreme court in Andalusia saying that the Spanish authorities do not have the right to return migrants without “due process,” that caused the migrants to swim across to Ceuta. Another factor is the Spanish government choosing to regularise approximately 500 thousand non-documented immigrants already in Spain.

According to Haddad, illegal trafficking organizations and groups have used these factors “to incite people to do mass migration.”

Upon entering Ceuta, the Moroccans found everything shut. When they could not find anything to eat or drink, or even a place to sleep, both the Spanish and Moroccan authorities decided that all the immigrants should return to Morocco, in spite of the supreme court ruling.

Haddad mentioned that youth who are unemployed, those who are no longer at school, and those who have poor paying jobs and are suffering the brunt of inflation often feel that migration is their only option. So, beyond border security, unless the government does not create jobs around cities close to Ceuta, link investment to job creation, dismantle the illegal groups working to weaponize migration, and give hope and accessibility to young people, there will always be the temptation to migrate.

There must be a global co-ordinated effort from the European Union and African transit countries like Morocco on laws around what migration should look like. “Political courage” is required from all sides, Haddad emphasized, and each must and enforce immigrant laws, protect their own borders, create opportunities and do things in the best interests of everyone.

Listen to the full interview with Ml Habib Bobat and Lahcen Haddad here.