Morocco’s Border Control Foiled 87,000 Irregular Migration Attempts in 2023

Rabat – Morocco’s border control, in collaboration with law enforcement, has intercepted approximately 87,000 individuals attempting to cross to Europe in 2023.

According to a statement from the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces, the bulk of irregular migration attempts were recorded among individuals from Sub-Saharan origins.

Throughout the year, Royal Armed Forces units, working with law enforcement agencies, intensified surveillance measures across both land and maritime borders.

The increased level of surveillance led to the identification and interception of a significant number of individuals attempting irregular migration.

In addition, authorities managed to provide essential aid and support to more than 22,000 irregular migrants who were often found stranded aboard makeshift watercraft in distressing situations in what is considered one of the world’s deadliest borders.

In June 2023, data from Morocco’s Ministry of Interior unveiled the country’s ongoing efforts to curb irregular migration attempts towards Europe thwarted a staggering 366,000 irregular migration attempts over the previous five years.

The data shows that in 2022 alone, the country aborted 70,781 attempts at irregular immigration.

The operations haven’t solely focused on interception; they’ve also prioritized humanitarian aid. Morocco has managed to rescue more than 90,000 irregular migrants over the same period, especially on the maritime front. Morocco’s Royal Navy extracted over 12,000 migrants from dangerous conditions in 2022.

Morocco’s approach to curbing irregular migration equally extends to dismantling criminal networks involved in irregular migration.

In 2022, the national police department dismantled 290 networks, and by the end of May 2023, an estimated 117 additional networks were disrupted, bringing the total number of dismantled networks to 1,500 over the past five years.

Morocco’s robust approach to fighting irregular immigration has had tangible results on the flow of irregular immigration into Europe, with estimates suggesting that the flow of illegal migrants has dropped by 36% year-on-year at the end of April 2023.