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> Europe grants emergency aid to Spain and Ceuta
The sudden deportation of the Rouf family to Sri Lanka has shocked teachers and fellow students, who earlier this year came out in support of the family's application to remain in Germany.
GERMANY
German authorities face backlash over pre-dawn deportation of integrated Sri Lankan family
October 2026: Authorities in the western German city of Leverkusen are facing severe political and public backlash after a pre-dawn raid on Friday, 16 October 2026, to deport a well-integrated Sri Lankan family. The operation, which physically separated a family of seven, has drawn widespread condemnation and comparisons to the aggressive dawn raids carried out by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
At 5:45 a.m. on 16 October, immigration and police officers reportedly used a battering ram to break into the family’s apartment while they slept. The Rouf family, who arrived in Germany in 2018 after fleeing Sri Lanka, had their asylum applications rejected but were widely considered to be well integrated into their local community.
The raid led to the immediate deportation of the father, Mohamed, and his 19-year-old daughter, Ramla, who were placed on a morning flight from Düsseldorf. The mother and the three youngest children, aged 13, 7, and 6, two of whom were born in Germany, were taken into custody and are scheduled for a subsequent deportation flight. A 15-year-old son, who was away on a school trip in Berlin during the raid, has reportedly gone into hiding.
The case has sparked a political row in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) because local officials bypassed ongoing parliamentary reviews to carry out the deportation.
The state’s Hardship Commission had explicitly recommended granting the family a residence permit. The state parliament's Petitions Committee also noted that the family met all legal requirements to remain in Germany, citing their uninterrupted six-year residency, the children's consistent school attendance, fluent German, and the father's full-time employment.
However, the Leverkusen immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) acted before the committee could issue its formal ruling. Stefan Hebbel, Leverkusen's conservative mayor, defended the authorities' actions, stating that the local government is bound by law and that all administrative courts had rejected the family's appeals.
For the Rouf family, returning to Sri Lanka carries significant risks. They belong to the country's Tamil-speaking Muslim minority, a group that has long faced deep-rooted discrimination and marginalisation. Since the end of the Sri Lankan civil war, and particularly in the wake of the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings by extremist groups, the Muslim minority has been subjected to escalating ethno-religious tensions and hostility from majoritarian Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist factions. Human rights organisations have frequently documented arbitrary detention, systemic harassment, and violence directed at Muslim communities on the island.
The sudden deportation has shocked the local community. Teachers and classmates at the Cologne grammar school, where Ramla was preparing for her Abitur, Germany’s final secondary school examinations, organised immediate solidarity rallies.
State politicians have also expressed outrage that the local immigration office circumvented parliamentary protocol. Jochen Ott, the Social Democrat (SPD) faction leader in the NRW state parliament, called the decision an "act of disrespect towards parliament" and added that the case raises fundamental questions about the justice of Germany's deportation system, particularly when self-sufficient, integrated individuals are removed.
The Cologne Administrative Court rejected a late Friday emergency appeal by the family’s lawyers to halt the remaining deportations. The court ruled that the deportation did not constitute an "unreasonable separation" of the family, paving the way for the mother and the remaining children to be removed as early as next week.
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EUROPEAN UNION
EU agrees on a framework for migrant return hubs in third countries.
October 2026: On Thursday, 1 October 2026, European Union (EU) interior ministers gave final approval to a law allowing member states to operate 'return hubs' in third countries, two months after the mass migrant crossing into Ceuta exposed gaps in the bloc's border controls. Spain cast the sole vote against; Belgium abstained.
The regulation, already approved by the European Parliament, allows EU states to send people obliged to leave the bloc, but who cannot be returned to their country of origin, often because that country refuses to take them back, to centres in third countries. Germany has driven the plan alongside Austria, Denmark, Greece and the Netherlands. The rules are expected to take effect within weeks.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said he hoped to reach a concrete agreement with a third country before the end of the year, but described the negotiations as 'a thick plank to drill through', with no timeline for when prospective partner countries might agree.
Dobrindt declined to confirm which countries were under discussion, but named four that had repeatedly come up: Rwanda, Uganda, Libya and Kazakhstan. Separately, a Reuters source said EU lawmakers visiting Rwanda had been shown two facilities originally built for Britain's abandoned deportation scheme there, including a hotel. No agreement with any host country has yet been signed.
Dobrindt explicitly linked the new rules to July's crossing, arguing that the EU needs to quickly identify when border surges are driven by disinformation and smuggling networks rather than genuine humanitarian need. He cited Ceuta directly: around 72,000 people, mostly young men, crossing on foot or by swimming in a single day were "obviously" not cases related to ordinary asylum claims, he said.
The regulation establishes a crisis mechanism that allows normal asylum procedures to be suspended in such cases, alongside a strengthened mandate for Frontex. The measure builds on the EU's broader Asylum Pact, which took effect in June, and is intended to ease pressure on frontline states such as Italy and Greece.
Rejected asylum seekers who do not cooperate with their own deportation and are not detained risk having benefits cut and travel documents confiscated EU-wide. Detention ahead of removal becomes possible wherever officials judge a flight risk or security threat, with the maximum period extended to 24 months and a further six months in special cases.
Germany's centre-left parties, including the Social Democrats and the Greens, have expressed doubts about the return-hub model; the agreement followed coordination between the centre-right EPP group in the European Parliament and the Parliament's right-wing bloc.
Spain, still grappling with the aftermath of Ceuta, called the approach disproportionate and said it would not have resolved that crisis. Amnesty International warned that the hubs risk becoming 'cruel black holes for human rights', citing possible arbitrary detention and forced onward returns, particularly given the political instability in some candidate countries.
Irregular entries and asylum applications to the EU, including Germany, have fallen substantially in recent years, prompting critics to question how urgent the new measures are, even as ministers cite Ceuta as justification.
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POLAND
Poland extends asylum freeze at Belarus border despite condemnation by human rights organisations
September 2026: Poland has renewed its controversial suspension of the right to apply for asylum along its eastern border with Belarus for a further 60 days, entrenching emergency measures that have dramatically curtailed irregular entries into the European Union.
The extension, approved by the Polish parliament on 4 September 2026 by an overwhelming 418–16 vote and officially brought into force by the Ministry of the Interior on 18 September 2026, marks the latest renewal of a legal mechanism first introduced on 27 March 2025. Under this framework, foreigners intercepted while illegally crossing into Polish territory from Belarus are barred from lodging international protection claims and face summary return, with narrow exemptions reserved only for vulnerable groups such as unaccompanied minors and pregnant women.
Government officials in Warsaw argue that the policy is vital to dismantling what they characterise as a hybrid-warfare campaign orchestrated by Minsk and Moscow to destabilise the EU’s eastern flank. Polish authorities assert that Belarusian security services continue to coordinate illicit border crossings, supply cutting equipment to breach steel fencing, and direct migrants towards tactical vulnerabilities.
Official figures point to a steep decline in border traffic. According to data released by the Polish Interior Ministry, border guards recorded 235 irregular crossing attempts in the first half of 2026, compared with more than 15,500 attempts during the same period in 2025. Between March 2025 and 16 August 2026, authorities rejected 492 asylum applications under the restriction, whilst admitting 178 from vulnerable applicants.
Yet the policy faces fierce condemnation from human rights organisations and legal experts, who argue that blanket suspensions of asylum applications infringe both EU law and the 1951 Refugee Convention.
In a field assessment published on 22 September 2026, the advocacy group Human Rights First warned that civil society groups and humanitarian volunteers operating near the exclusion zone along the border face increasing police questioning, premises searches, and criminal investigations.
The measure reflects a broader hardening of Europe’s border architecture. The EU’s sweeping Migration and Asylum Pact, which entered into force on 12 June 2026, formally expanded expedited screening and accelerated border return mechanisms across external frontiers.
Alongside Germany’s continued physical checks at all its land borders, renewed in 2025 and maintained through 2026, Poland’s restrictions on its eastern frontier highlight the ongoing shift away from open-border norms within the Schengen Area.
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CEUTA / SPAIN / EUROPE
Spanish court to investigate Ceuta mass crossing as Europe grants emergency aid
September 2026: Spain's National Court has opened a criminal investigation into the mass crossing from Morocco into the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta in July, citing a police report that found Moroccan security forces displayed "total permissiveness" and, in some cases, gave migrants "active guidance" towards the border.
The move came days before the EU announced €115 million in emergency aid to help Spain manage the crisis's ongoing aftermath.
Investigating judge María Tardón ruled on 8 September that the events of 30–31 July, when more than 70,000 people crossed from Morocco, did not appear spontaneous and may have been part of an organised operation using migration as cover.
Her ruling described the tactic as characteristic of 'hybrid warfare' or "grey zone" operations intended to disrupt the lives and rights of Spanish citizens in Ceuta. The case, opened following a complaint by the group Iustitia Europa and backed by the Public Prosecutor's Office, will examine possible crimes against Spain's territorial integrity, facilitation of irregular migration by a criminal organisation, and negligent homicide. It will also investigate 83 documented deaths in Spanish waters linked to the crossing.
The investigation has exposed a rare public rift between the judiciary and Madrid. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska have repeatedly said there is no conclusive evidence of Moroccan involvement, and the Interior Ministry has openly disputed the police report that underpins the case.
The National Court's governing chamber responded by expressing 'absolute support' for Tardón. Morocco's government has not publicly commented on the investigation.
Separately, the European Commission said on 9 September it would grant Spain €114.7 million in emergency aid: €82.7 million from the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and €32 million from the Border Management and Visa Instrument.
Commission Vice-President Henna Virkkunen said the situation had "put pressure on our external borders" and that Brussels remained committed to 'the swift return of those who remain illegally in Ceuta'.
The funds will cover thermal cameras, floating buoy systems and underwater drones, as well as screening facilities and expanded reception capacity, including for unaccompanied minors. Frontex, Europol and the EU Asylum Agency are also stepping up their support. Once a financing agreement is signed, the Commission has 30 days to release up to 80 per cent of the total.
Spanish government figures estimate the number of migrants still in the enclave at around 5,000; Ceuta's regional authorities say it is closer to 10,000. Many continue to sleep on beaches and streets more than six weeks after the initial crossing, in what officials describe as increasingly dire conditions.
The crisis has hit Sánchez's government hard at home. A poll conducted by 40dB for El País and Cadena SER found that only 14.2 per cent of respondents rated his handling of the crisis positively. The combined vote share of the conservative People's Party and far-right Vox exceeded 50 per cent for the first time, while left-wing parties fell to 36.1 per cent.
Caveat: The National Court's findings are allegations under investigation, not established fact, and Spain's own government disputes the central claim of Moroccan facilitation. The case may take months or longer to resolve and could yet find no organised involvement.
Sources and methodology: Based on reports from Euronews, France 24, Arab News, Bloomberg (via UA.News), Spain in English, and Yabiladi, together with Spain's National Court ruling of 8 September and the European Commission's funding announcement of 9 September.
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CEUTA / SPAIN / MOROCCO
Tension remains high in Ceuta, as residents destroy migrant tents
August 2026: A month after more than 70,000 people crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, the enclave has become the scene of nightly unrest, with residents destroying a migrant camp, journalists reporting harassment, and a flotilla of supporters sailing from mainland Spain in a show of solidarity.
Spanish authorities say the vast majority of the roughly 70,000 people who entered on 30–31 July have since returned to Morocco, but estimates of how many remain diverge sharply: Madrid's government puts the figure at 3,500 to 7,000, while Ceuta's regional government says it is at least 10,000. Many have been sleeping rough on beaches, chiefly at Trampolín and Benítez.
Tensions boiled over on Thursday (27 August) when protesters blocked a Red Cross food truck for more than two hours, then broke through a police cordon, stormed the migrant camp and set fire to makeshift shelters. Video footage showed demonstrators throwing belongings into the sea.
Separately, a military vehicle carrying four soldiers was attacked with stones by about 70 migrants overnight; the soldiers fled and called the police, who arrested 12 Moroccan nationals. One soldier sustained minor injuries. By Friday, residents had returned to dismantle what remained of the camp, according to Reuters.
The International and European Federation of Journalists said on 28 August that reporters covering the protests had been repeatedly targeted. On 25 August, a La Sexta crew was surrounded and forced to take shelter, and one journalist was pushed before police intervened; the following day, protesters insulted a public broadcaster RTVE crew.
The federation also noted that Mediapart journalist Nejma Brahim was denied entry to Morocco on 13 August while attempting to cover the story, and that Moroccan authorities expelled Spanish media crews from the border town of Fnideq on 15 August. Spanish journalists' unions have condemned what they call an escalating climate of hostility towards the press.
Spain's cabinet approved a 'single command' structure for Ceuta on 25 August, led by Territorial Policy Minister Ángel Víctor Torres, and announced €25 million in additional funding for unaccompanied minors, who receive special legal protections. The Interior Ministry said it was sending extra personnel to speed up identification procedures.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska accused protesters of 'inciting hatred and confrontation' and called for calm, while Ceuta's regional president, Juan Vivas, said peaceful demonstrations were justified but rejected any resort to violence. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has faced sustained criticism from Ceuta's authorities over the pace of Madrid's response; opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo accused the government of failing to prevent what he called an 'invasion'.
In a show of support for Ceuta residents, around 50 yachts carrying some 120 people sailed from ports along the Costa del Sol to Ceuta on Saturday, as part of a private citizens' initiative called the 'Armada de la Solidaridad con Ceuta', organised by businessman Marcos de Quinto, columnist Amalio de Marichalar, the president of Marbella's Real Club Náutico, and several others, under the slogan 'United for Ceuta, united for Spain'.
Ceuta's marina waived berthing fees for participants and hosted a welcome dinner at the city's Yacht Club. A guided tour of Ceuta was arranged for Saturday, with a tour of the surrounding waters planned for Sunday. No further demonstrations were expected over the weekend, although a protest organised by local residents' associations is scheduled for 2 September.
Sources and methodology: Based on reporting from Euronews, Africanews, Reuters, CNN and AFP wire copy, and a 28 August statement from the International and European Federation of Journalists.
A note on terminology: The Immigrant Times uses "irregular" for entry outside official channels and "undocumented" for those without valid residence papers; "invasion," used above only in direct quotation, reflects the speaker's own characterisation, not this publication's assessment.
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GERMANY / SACHSEN-ANHALT
Migrant businesses strike for solidarity as German President warns of far-right victory in state elections
August 2026: More than 120 migrant-owned businesses across Magdeburg and other Sachsen-Anhalt towns closed on Wednesday (26 August) in protest against racism, a day after President Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned against what he called a relapse into ethnic-nationalist thinking, in a speech widely read as an implicit rebuke of the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD). Both developments occurred eleven days before Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt) elects a new parliament on 6 September, one of three German state and city elections in September, in a vote that opinion polls suggest the AfD could win outright. (Mecklenburg-Pomerania and Berlin will go to the polls on 20 September.)
Shops, restaurants and other migrant-run businesses voluntarily closed between 10:00 and 15:00 on 26 August, in what organisers called the 'Migra-Streik' (migrant strike), followed by a rally outside the state parliament on Magdeburg's Domplatz (Cathedral Square).
"Society must stay together, not divided into foreigners and Germans," said Saaeid Saaeid of the Flüchtlingsrat Sachsen-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt Refugee Council), which supported the initiative. He said the mood had been tense and poisoned since the 2024 attack on Magdeburg's Christmas market, and that calls for mass deportation had become almost normalised.
The AfD's manifesto calls for what it describes as a complete reversal of migration policy and an intensified drive to deport and remigrate, and separately opposes state-backed recruitment of foreign care workers.
German President Steinmeier delivered his address on Tuesday (25 August). Without naming the AfD, he said Germany "belongs to everyone who lives here lawfully", and that the constitution recognises no community defined by shared blood and no privileges for so-called Biodeutsche, native-born Germans.
He said what makes someone German is citizenship, a shared language, and a commitment to peaceful coexistence under the constitution, not ancestry. He acknowledged that immigration asks something of long-settled citizens and municipalities, while crediting it with keeping hospitals, care homes and much of the private sector staffed.
Sachsen-Anhalt's Landtag has been reduced in size for this election to a baseline of 83 seats, meaning an outright majority now requires 42. Recent surveys, including a pollytix poll published on 12 August, put such a majority within the AfD's reach; the party has been polling at 40 to 42 per cent, more than double its 2021 result of 20.8 per cent, when the CDU won with 37.1 per cent.
Sachsen-Anhalt's AfD branch is officially classified as 'confirmed right-wing extremist' by the state's domestic intelligence agency. Should the polls hold, the party's lead candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, could become the first AfD state premier anywhere in Germany. Every other party in the Landtag has ruled out a coalition with it.
An AfD-led government could slow Sachsen-Anhalt's economic growth by roughly 0.5 to 1 percentage point a year, largely through the effect of anti-immigrant rhetoric alone, Reint Gropp, head of the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research (IWH), told the Süddeutsche Zeitung. He said foreign workers already make up 33–40 per cent of the workforce in food production, construction, hospitality and logistics, and around a fifth of doctors.
Separately, the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW) has estimated that without continued immigration, the working-age population across eastern Germany could shrink by more than an eighth by 2035 and over a fifth by 2045; it has already fallen 23 per cent since 1995. The Immigrant Times will report the election result in full once it is confirmed on the night of 6 September.
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SWITZERLAND
For many foreigners, Switzerland is only a temporary home
August 2026: Switzerland is attracting fewer immigrants and losing more of its existing foreign population, according to figures published in August 2026 by the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), extending a trend that is now in its third year.
Some 74,112 foreign nationals joined Switzerland's permanent resident population in the first half of 2026, down 2.9% on the same period last year, SEM said. Net immigration, arrivals minus departures, fell 12.5% to 29,884. By the end of June, 2,432,444 foreigners were permanently resident in the country, representing more than a quarter of the total population.
Arrivals from the European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states held broadly steady, down 0.7% to 55,761. The larger decline came from outside the bloc: immigration from third countries fell 9% to 18,351. Employment remained the dominant driver, with 80.5% of EU/EFTA immigration linked to work. 41,321 people from the bloc took up longer-term jobs, down 1.6% on the year.
Emigration rose for a third consecutive year. SEM recorded 39,251 departures by permanent foreign residents in the first half, up 4.3% to 1,608 more than a year earlier. Of those, 29,691 held EU or EFTA nationality, and 9,560 were third-country nationals.
Germans were the largest group of leavers, with 5,221. Measured against the size of their resident populations, Indian and Chinese nationals left in disproportionately high numbers.
The migration balance, arrivals minus departures, narrowed sharply for non-EU/EFTA nationals, down 3,202 to 7,416, compared with a smaller fall of 1,085 to 22,468 among EU/EFTA citizens.
Cross-border commuter permits also declined, with 33,219 issued in the first half, down from 36,876 a year earlier, a 10% drop. Short-term work permits moved the other way, rising 3% to 169,514.
SEM data on cohort retention call into question the assumption that migration to Switzerland is typically permanent. Of those who arrived in 2011, roughly 20% had left within two years, 35% within five years, and nearly half within a decade. Highly skilled workers on fixed-term assignments from the United States, Japan, Canada and China are especially likely to move on, with an estimated 70-80% of OECD nationals from outside the EU/EFTA leaving again within three to five years.
Retirement is one driver of departure: Swiss pensions extend further abroad, a pattern evident among Portuguese nationals who arrived in the 1980s and are now returning home. Family ties work in the opposite direction, with SEM noting that residents with a partner or children in Switzerland are more likely to stay.
Sources, methodology & terminology
Figures are drawn from SEM's half-year migration statistics (January-June 2026), published on 13 August, and cover the permanent foreign resident population, including holders of settlement and residence permits, short-stay permits exceeding 12 months, and recognised refugees. Comparative figures are year-on-year with the first half of 2025. This report concerns regular, permanent foreign residents of Switzerland, distinct from asylum seekers or undocumented migrants, who are not included in these statistics.
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SPAIN / CEUTA / EU
Spain’s handling of the Ceuta crisis is now fully backed by EU members
August 2026: EU interior ministers voiced ‘full solidarity’ with Spain on Tuesday over the Ceuta migrant crisis, as the country's own ministers returned home from Brussels with the bloc's backing intact.
Speaking after around three hours of emergency talks, EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner stated the Ceuta crisis had challenged Europe's border security, resilience to disinformation, and solidarity among member states, and declared: "Europe, I think, has definitely passed this test."
Spain's Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, described the tone as ‘absolutely constructive’, a clear shift from the acrimony of the previous days. France's Interior Minister, Laurent Nunez, whose government had deliberately refused to sign an earlier letter critical of Spain, said all member states had affirmed their solidarity with Madrid "without exception."
Around 70,000 of the estimated 72,000 migrants who crossed from Morocco into Ceuta have now returned to Morocco, Fernando Grande-Marlaska said. “Most did so voluntarily.”
Grande-Marlaska stressed that Ceuta's border policy means the Schengen area itself was never genuinely at risk, as the enclave is outside it. This is a technical point Spanish officials have repeatedly highlighted in response to Italian and Danish claims to the contrary. He also dismissed Italy's month-long suspension of Schengen-free travel with Spain as unwarranted and expressed his expectation that it will be lifted soon.
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CEUTA / SPAIN / MOROCCO
Ceuta: An invasion that wasn’t
August 2026: Politicians and commentators across Europe described last week's mass crossing into Ceuta as an ‘invasion’, a term echoed by Santiago Abascal, the leader of Spain’s far-right Vox party, and by Elon Musk, who called it "absolutely an invasion" in widely shared posts. Video and photographic evidence from the crossing itself tells a different story.
AFP, Reuters, and AP journalists on the ground described those arriving as overwhelmingly young, male, and with almost nothing: some crossed by inner tube with mobile phones sealed in waterproof pouches; others reached the shore in swimwear or worn T-shirts and sandals. A Cologne University migration researcher told CNN many of those arriving were 16 or 17.
Abascal's video, viewed more than 2.2 million times, accused Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's government of orchestrating the crossing to shore up its own position; Musk separately suggested Spain's finances would be ‘destroyed’.
Neither claim has been supported by any evidence. Migrant-rights activists in Morocco quoted by Al Jazeera expressed doubt that most of those crossing would even have known of a Spanish Supreme Court ruling that officials on both sides blamed for triggering the surge, since it required a legal reading unlikely to have reached ordinary social-media users.
Spanish and EU officials have instead pointed to trafficking networks spreading a distorted version of the ruling online, and to possible, but unconfirmed, Moroccan tolerance of the crossings as leverage in an unrelated diplomatic dispute with Madrid over Algeria.
Whatever the eventual finding on causation, the aftermath undercuts ‘invasion’ as a description of outcome: Spanish authorities say more than 48,000 of the roughly 60,000 arrivals had returned to Morocco within 48 hours, and the vast majority within days, either voluntarily or through expedited procedures.
No unauthorised arrivals reached mainland Spain or other parts of the EU. The pattern, a rapid, largely self-reversing mass crossing rather than a sustained territorial incursion, mirrors a smaller precedent in May 2021, when roughly 8,000 people crossed and around two-thirds were returned within days.
That does not resolve every open question. Analysts have noted the timing, ten days after Sánchez announced closer ties with Algeria, Morocco's regional rival, as circumstantial grounds for suspecting Rabat eased enforcement deliberately; Spain's defence minister has previously accused Morocco of ‘blackmail’ in a related 2021 episode, though Madrid has not made that accusation formally this time. Morocco denies any deliberate loosening of controls and blames the surge on trafficking networks and online misinformation, as does Spain's own interior ministry.
Sources and methodology: Based on reporting and photography/video description from AFP, Reuters, AP, CNN and Al Jazeera; social media posts by Santiago Abascal and Elon Musk, quoted as reported by Forbes; and analysis from Wikipedia's cross-referenced incident summary, checked against primary wire sourcing. Claims of Moroccan orchestration remain unconfirmed by any of the outlets consulted.
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The enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla
North African Ceuta, located on a peninsula at the Strait of Gibraltar, was conquered by the Portuguese in 1415. Spain gained control of the city in 1580 following the annexation of Portugal. Ceuta remained under Spanish rule when Portugal regained its independence in 1640 — as did Melilla, in north-eastern Morocco. Morocco has been independent from France and Spain since 1956, but the enclaves remained Spanish.
Both coastal towns have maintained autonomous-city status since 1995 and also serve as military bases. Each is a small territory surrounded by the Mediterranean and Morocco. Ceuta covers approximately 18.5 square kilometres and has about 84,000 residents.
Thousands of people, mainly from countries south of the Sahara, often wait near both territories for a chance to enter an area that belongs to the EU but not to the Schengen zone.
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SPAIN / MOROCCO / CEUTA
Tens of thousands of young people swam from Morocco to Spain’s enclave of Ceuta
July / August 2026: Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited Spain’s North African enclave Ceuta on Friday and called this week's migrant surge from Morocco an ‘attack’ on Spanish sovereignty, after regional officials confirmed at least 34 deaths and tens of thousands of crossings in a single 24-hour period.
Ceuta's regional president, Juan Jesús Vivas, told reporters on Friday that around 60,000 people had entered the enclave by land and sea over the previous days, more than half the territory's population. Other estimates, including one cited by the European Commission, put the figure closer to 50,000. Vivas confirmed 34 deaths without providing details on the circumstances; Spain's Interior Ministry said around 25,000 people had already been returned to Morocco by Friday.
During his visit, Sánchez met Vivas, the government's Ceuta delegate, officials from the National Police and Civil Guard, and representatives of the migrant reception centre CETI and the Spanish Red Cross. He described the crossings as a ‘violation’ of Spanish territory, and said his government would defend Ceuta ‘as if it were Madrid’.
The Prime Minister announced plans to install floating buoys along the maritime border between the Moroccan coast and Ceuta's Tarajal beach to prevent people from swimming across. He pledged to expedite return procedures and mentioned that legal changes might be necessary to facilitate repatriations at the border.
Sánchez attributed the surge to smuggling networks spreading a ‘self-serving interpretation’ of a Supreme Court ruling issued this month, which bars the summary return of migrants intercepted at sea, as opposed to those crossing physical barriers such as fences.
Some migrant rights activists in Morocco questioned that explanation, saying most people attempting the crossing would have been unaware of the judgment. Morocco has reinforced security near Fnideq, deploying extra personnel and using water cannons to disperse crowds.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the scenes from Ceuta ‘unacceptable’ and said two commissioners, Magnus Brunner on internal affairs and Dubravka Šuica on the Mediterranean, were coordinating support for Spain, including possible Frontex assistance.
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said states that fail to protect the EU's external border cannot remain in Schengen; Madrid summoned the Italian ambassador in response, with Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares calling the remarks ‘unbecoming’ of a partner country. France's Interior Minister, Laurent Nunez, said Paris was tightening checks at its border with Spain and had activated the EU's Rapid Border Intervention force.
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RUSSIA
Russia coerces migrants into military service in Ukraine
July 2026: Russia has established a systematic mechanism to force foreign nationals residing on its territory to enlist in its armed forces, primarily using immigration law as the means of coercion. The practice, documented by European and American research institutions and Ukrainian intelligence services, has grown considerably in 2026 as Moscow seeks to maintain troop levels without provoking a politically risky domestic mobilisation.
The mechanism is simple. In November 2025, Russia quietly signed Decree No. 821, which requires foreign nationals already residing in the country to choose between military service and departure, with at least one year of service mandatory to apply for permanent residency. Unnaturalised foreigners seeking citizenship must provide proof of service with the military or the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Alongside the decree, the government began targeting migrants with new laws that label certain activities as extremism or threats to security, punishable by expulsion, thereby increasing pressure on migrants to seek legal security through military service.
Since April 2024, police have reportedly carried out frequent mass detentions of migrants and individuals with acquired Russian citizenship to coerce them into signing military contracts or face conscription, threatening them with revocation of Russian citizenship. The EU Agency for Asylum, in its December 2025 country report on Russia, documented the use of what it described as "deception and indirect coercion," including promises that recruits would serve as cooks or drivers rather than front-line soldiers.
The scope of the operation is significant. Russia has recruited at least 27,000 foreign nationals since February 2022 from countries across Central and South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. According to Ukrainian military intelligence, Moscow plans to recruit at least 18,500 foreign nationals in 2026 alone, the highest yearly total since the full-scale invasion began. Military recruitment offices are assigned specific quotas to draft between 0.5 and 3.5 per cent of the total foreign population in each region. The main targets include citizens of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, as well as recruits from impoverished nations such as Bangladesh, Chad, Sudan, and Burundi.
The human cost is already apparent. At least 3,388 confirmed foreign fatalities have been recorded, including roughly 70 deaths from Nepal, 40 from Bangladesh, and 26 from India. Ghana has confirmed that 272 of its nationals were drawn to the Russian front lines, of whom 55 are now deceased. In March 2026, Ghana's Foreign Minister stated that Ghana's and Russia's foreign ministries would collaborate to address issues related to the enlistment of Ghanaian youth.
The coercive model is ingrained in Russian state policy at the highest level. In October 2025, the Kremlin approved the State Migration Policy Concept of the Russian Federation for 2026–2030, which officially frames migration policy in terms of military and security aims. Human rights organisations argue that citizenship is used as a tool of coercion, turning the promise of legal belonging into a mechanism for extracting military labour. Even for those who acquire citizenship, the pressure does not cease: a 2024 law revokes citizenship from naturalised citizens who fail to register for military service, effectively holding the passport as a hostage.
The strategy has a clear purpose. By December 2025, Russia experienced around 1.2 million battlefield casualties, including up to 325,000 soldiers killed. To offset these losses, Moscow needs to recruit more than 30,000 new troops each month. A second wave of domestic mobilisation, the first, in September 2022, caused about 261,000 Russians to leave the country, which is considered politically unacceptable by the Kremlin. Forcing migrants already in Russia to join the military offers a way to close the gap without provoking domestic backlash.
The report stops short of claiming that every foreign fighter was trafficked, noting that some volunteered for financial gain, but concludes there are reasonable grounds to believe that at least some cases meet the legal threshold for human trafficking.
Sources: EU Agency for Asylum (Country Report: Russia, December 2025); Foreign Policy Research Institute; ImpACT International; Human Rights Research Center; Truth Hounds; Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service; Ukrainian Military Intelligence (HUR); Kyiv Independent.
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SPAIN
Twice as many undocumented immigrants apply for Spanish work permits as expected
July 2026: Over 1.17 million undocumented immigrants have applied for residence and work permits under Spain’s extraordinary regularisation programme, more than twice the number initially expected by the government.
When the scheme was announced earlier this year, ministers estimated that around 500,000 to 600,000 people would qualify. Final figures released after the application deadline show that 1,174,978 people submitted applications, making it one of the largest regularisation programmes ever undertaken in Europe.
The programme, introduced by the government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, offers a renewable one-year residence permit with the right to work. Applicants must demonstrate that they were living in Spain before the end of 2025, have no criminal record and meet other eligibility requirements. Authorities will now assess the applications over the coming months before deciding how many permits will ultimately be granted.
According to the government, over 600,000 applicants have already received temporary work permits while their cases are being processed, allowing many to enter the formal labour market immediately instead of working in the informal economy.
The unexpectedly high number of applications highlights both the extent of undocumented migration in Spain and the country’s ongoing dependence on immigrant labour. Government ministers contend that legalising the status of workers already residing in Spain will bolster the economy, boost tax revenues, and curtail labour exploitation. Spain boasts one of Europe’s fastest-growing economies and faces labour shortages in sectors such as agriculture, hospitality, construction, and care services.
The figures also challenge a common view about immigration to Spain. While irregular arrivals across the Mediterranean and to the Canary Islands often make headlines, most people seeking regularisation come from Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. Colombians represent the largest group of applicants, followed by Moroccans, Venezuelans, and Peruvians. Overall, about 67 per cent of applicants originate from Central and South America.
Spain has become one of Europe’s main destinations for migrants. Nearly one in five residents was born abroad, with immigration helping to counteract an ageing population and support economic growth. Prime Minister Sánchez has repeatedly argued that immigration is vital for Spain’s future prosperity and has contrasted his government’s approach with the increasingly restrictive policies adopted elsewhere in Europe.
The programme has nonetheless proven politically controversial. The conservative People’s Party and the far-right Vox have criticised the regularisation, arguing that it could encourage further irregular migration and place additional pressure on public services. The government rejects those claims, maintaining that the measure is intended to bring people already living in Spain into the legal economy rather than encourage new arrivals.
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