Spain’s King Felipe VI says migrants who entered Ceuta must go home

King Felipe VI said Tuesday that people who entered Spain irregularly during this summer’s mass crossing into Ceuta should, as a general principle, return to their places of origin as soon as possible through established legal procedures. The remarks came from a ceremonial head of state who had mostly refrained from public comment on the crisis.

The king and Queen Letizia visited the Spanish city on the North African coast for the first time in his 12-year reign. It was the first royal visit to Ceuta since his father, Juan Carlos I, toured it in 2007. The couple stayed overnight and were due in Melilla, Spain’s other North African exclave, on Wednesday.

Speaking to civil society figures, the king said Ceuta’s frontier is a European border and that any threat to it threatens the European Union, the Associated Press reported. “Ceuta is Spain,” he said. In his only reference to Morocco, he said relations must rest on good faith from both sides. He also called for migrants remaining in Ceuta to be treated with dignity and humanity and afforded legal protections. The city’s mayor estimates that as many as 15,000 migrants remain, although the precise number is unknown.

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Ceuta’s top elected official, Juan Jesus Vivas, handed the king the key to the city and called for the expulsion of all migrants who stayed after the crossing.

The royals also paid respects at the Sidi Embarek cemetery to unidentified migrants who died in the crossing, accompanied by leaders of Ceuta’s four main religions, and visited a school. The royal household told El Debate the king later held a roughly 15-minute closed-door meeting with soldiers, Civil Guard members and police to thank them for their work.

The visit is diplomatically sensitive. Morocco does not recognize Spanish sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla, and Juan Carlos’ 2007 trip led Morocco to recall its ambassador. Morocco’s Foreign Ministry had not responded to requests for comment, the AP reported. Government spokeswoman Elma Saiz described the trip as a normal visit to two Spanish cities.

The AP estimated that about 80,000 people entered Ceuta during the July crossing and that at least 140 died. Reuters separately reported that more than 72,000 migrants crossed the border. The aftermath has become a campaign issue ahead of next month’s elections, the AP reported. On Sept. 29, at a state dinner for French President Emmanuel Macron, the king called the situation “unacceptable” and urged more European solidarity.

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