Migrants Invaded Ceuta Because A Court Encouraged Them. SCOTUS Just Did The Same Here
A large group of about 60,000 young men from Morocco has crossed into the Spanish city of Ceuta, located in northern Africa, highlighting concerns about illegal immigration and border policies. Thier arrival was partly driven by a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling that prevents immediate deportation of migrants at sea, requiring legal processes that prolong their stay and legal rights.many migrants swam through treacherous waters, with over 50 deaths reported, seeking to take advantage of the court’s decision, which granted them due process and the possibility of remaining in Europe.
The situation has overwhelmed local infrastructure, leaving migrants without adequate food or shelter, and causing fear among residents due to potential lawlessness. This influx has been facilitated by social media spreading false claims that crossing these borders guarantees permanent residence, despite the court’s intended protections. Similar issues are discussed in the U.S., where judicial decisions on immigration and birthright citizenship are seen as encouraging illegal crossings and reducing border security.
Former President Trump’s efforts to deport unauthorized migrants are hindered by court rulings,though the Supreme Court has recently allowed some deportations to proceed. The parallels between Spain’s border crisis and the American immigration situation underscore ongoing debates over immigration policy and sovereignty in both countries.
Some 60,000 tough young men from Morocco suddenly arrived in a small autonomous Spanish city located in northern Africa, many carrying cell phones in plastic bags to protect them from the water they crossed by inner tubes and swimming. This group of migrants is greater than the population of 95 percent of American cities and towns.
A recent pro-immigration ruling by the Tribunal Supremo, the Supreme Court of Spain, sparked this invasion, creating a lesson for our crisis of illegal immigrants in the United States. A week after our own Supreme Court’s disastrous decision in favor of illegals getting birthright citizenship, Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that migrants captured at sea cannot be immediately returned to their native country, known as a “pushback.”
Spanish Territorial Policy Minister Ángel Víctor Torres referred to the ruling as a factor contributing to unlawful invasion. He also said legal experts think the decision will allow eventual deportation of these illegal immigrants, but only after time-consuming legal processes are provided to each of the invading migrants.
The language of Morocco is Arabic. But Spanish is the language of the two Spanish territories bordering Morocco in northern Africa, named Ceuta and Melilla, such that many of the migrants cannot communicate with local officials. Ceuta is located on the African side of the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea, and residents receive their food via the 30- to 60-minute ferry ride from Spain. Melilla is located 250 miles eastward on the Mediterranean coast.
These migrants have overwhelmed local facilities and are sleeping on beaches with limited access to food or drinking water. Due to the court ruling, they must be admitted for processing in compliance with Spanish immigration rules, which takes time.
If released during this process, as many illegal immigrants in America have been, they may not show up for court hearings or appointments with immigration authorities. They can roam about for years, and have rights to migrate further into any European Union country once they are lawfully in Spain.
Social media are being blamed for spreading the word that if migrants swam or boated to Ceuta or Melilla, they would have a right to stay. This has been criticized as a misinterpretation of the court ruling, but the court did grant special “due process” rights to those who came by sea rather than by land.
The most common water route is a 3-mile swim or to hang on to an inner tube while paddling through treacherous waters. Only some young men are fit enough to do that, and reportedly more than 50 have died during this invasion, with many dead bodies seen floating in the water.
CBS News interviewed migrants after arriving in Ceuta, and they explained that they spontaneously jumped in the water and swam the three miles. Crossing the Rio Grande River at our southern border is much easier than that, and President Trump pointed out that it will happen here if Democrats take control again.
No jobs awaited these rugged men, and it is inevitable that local laws will be violated as they seek food, clothing, entertainment, and shelter. Thousands of these men roam the streets, and frightened residents sheltered inside while shops closed up, afraid of vandalism and looting. One Ceuta resident, Rocío Gil, said on Spanish television that “as a woman, you have to live this to understand what it’s like. It’s an invasion … and there is no law.”
Sound familiar? Judicial rulings in the United States against sovereignty and border security here have caused similar travesties, including the admission of at least 1 million illegal migrants during each year of the Biden administration.
President Trump has been trying hard to return migrants who have been here on Temporary Protected Status (TPS), as brought in primarily by Democrat presidents. But lower federal judges have been blocking President Trump’s orders to deport illegal immigrants, and to detain them for deportation without releasing them on bond.
The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a victory for Trump in late June by authorizing him to deport Haitians and others on TPS status without interference by lower court judges. The high court said these presidential decisions to deport are largely unreviewable, yet not long after this decision was rendered, another federal district court judge blocked Trump again on this issue concerning Somalis.
Just as Spain’s Supreme Court invited an invasion by refusing to let its government defend its borders, our own Supreme Court has now guaranteed that every child born to those who illegally reach American soil becomes a citizen. That is a magnet no less powerful than the one that filled the beaches of Ceuta with 60,000 men.
John and Andy Schlafly are sons of Phyllis Schlafly (1924-2016) and lead the continuing Phyllis Schlafly Eagles organizations with writing and policy work.
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