Moroccan migrants trapped in Ceuta and Melilla trigger asylum applications

Moroccan migrants who have been trapped in Ceuta and Melilla trigger asylum applications in Almeria Spain.

Moroccans trapped in the autonomous cities have resorted to escaping to the Spanish city of Almeria so as to apply for the process of international aslyum. Many arrived on Saturday night, August 7, with one refugee complaining “Without a passport, they won’t let you travel,” in reference to the officials in the Spanish autonomous cities on the north coast of Africa that are bordered by Morocco, according to a report from El Pais.

Hundreds of people, mostly Moroccans trapped in Ceuta and Melilla, have recently launched asylum applications in both cities with the intention of reaching the Spanish peninsula.

“Melilla is like a mousetrap. Getting in is the easy part. The city is almost an expansion of the border itself, and migrants who are not kicked out and sent back to Morocco are allowed to roam free while staying in the Center for Temporary Lodging of Immigrants (CETI).

“However, getting out of the border town and into Europe is not an easy task, particularly for refugees,” said local attorney Leopoldo Bueno.

Since August 2020, successive rulings by the Spanish Supreme Court have endorsed the free movement of asylum seekers through the national territory. Applicants were previously required to remain in the autonomous cities pending the transfers periodically orchestrated by the Ministry of the Interior- leaving them detained for long periods of time.

Related:

Thousands of migrants still remain in Ceuta as Morocco blocks deportations.

More than 9,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta from Morocco in May this year after being allowed to cross easily by border guards in a slat between Moroccan and Spanish authorities, however, life in the Spanish city is yet to return to normal.

For days now, the Rabat government has been blocking the deportation of hundreds of its citizens, who crossed into the North African exclave between May 17 and 19 unhindered by the Moroccan security forces.

After the mass arrivals, Morocco initially helped with the deportations and those who voluntarily wanted to leave. But since the middle of last week, it has become increasingly difficult to deport the recent arrivals, according to Spanish police forces. While Morocco continues to allow its citizens to freely return to the country, most of those who wanted to leave have already done so.

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