Spain’s political establishment is scrambling to close the legal loophole blamed for the mass influx into Ceuta, as the U.S. accuses Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of facilitating illegal immigration into Europe.
Sánchez’s Socialist government and the centre-right People’s Party (PP) are moving towards an urgent agreement to amend Spain’s immigration law following last week’s crisis.
Both parties believe the influx was accelerated by a June 29 Supreme Court ruling that migrants reaching Ceuta by sea could not be immediately rejected under rules governing attempts to cross its physical land barrier.
The decision created an apparent loophole, allowing migrants who swam around the border fence to receive different treatment from those caught climbing over it.
Sánchez has said that he is open to changing the law to make repatriations more efficient. The PP has already introduced a bill explicitly allowing the authorities to turn back migrants intercepted at either the land or maritime frontier.
The legislation requires an absolute majority, meaning the Socialists and PP could approve it together when parliament returns in September.
The prospect of a deal has not calmed criticism from the Right.
VOX leader Santiago Abascal visited Ceuta on Sunday and described the crisis as an “invasion” and an “act of war promoted by Morocco and tolerated by Pedro Sánchez.”
He demanded the permanent militarisation of the border, its closure until Rabat guarantees that the crisis will not be repeated, and the suspension of the EU’s preferential agreement with Morocco.
The Sánchez government is also facing unusually direct criticism from Washington. According to ABC, the U.S. State Department blamed the crisis on Madrid’s “deliberate” efforts to permit and facilitate mass illegal immigration into Europe.
“The United States stands with the people of Spain and all Europeans against this flagrant violation of their sovereignty and human rights,” it said. Washington also warned that it was considering measures to protect Americans from the threat.
An intelligence report cited by La Razón has meanwhile challenged the suggestion that the influx was entirely spontaneous.
The report claimed that it had been promoted for weeks through TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, X, and WhatsApp, generating an estimated 11 million potential online impressions.
Posts reportedly provided routes, transport details, meeting places, timings, and updates about conditions around the Tarajal border. Some WhatsApp groups were administered through Algerian telephone numbers, while accounts in Morocco, Tunisia, France, and the U.S. amplified the campaign.
Activity intensified after the Supreme Court ruling became public, suggesting that the vulnerability was quickly identified and exploited.
The PP plans to bring its proposed reform before parliament in September, although the government could introduce its own legislation sooner with the opposition’s support.
