Rabat – A Moroccan government source has pointed to the recent ruling by the Spanish Supreme Court, emphasizing that a Spanish judge cannot dismantle the system for combating irregular migration and ask Morocco to bear the consequences.
The statement came in response to mounting criticism and anti-Morocco rhetoric following last week’s events, when tens of thousands of migrants reached or attempted to cross into Ceuta by swimming.
On July 8, the Spanish court ruled against “hot returns” of migrants who arrived in the enclave by swimming.
The ruling triggered a surge in crossings and was further exploited by smuggling networks, which used social media to disseminate fake news about alleged easy crossings to Ceuta and falsely claimed Spanish borders would be open.
A Moroccan government source said on Monday that “the migration barrier did not collapse because of smugglers, but because of a Spanish court ruling,” stressing that Morocco has never failed “in fulfilling its commitments and responsibilities.”
The source recalled that on July 8, a Spanish judge ruled that migrants arriving by sea could not be subject to automatic returns — “which lies at the heart of our deterrence system.”
In the eyes of traffickers, smugglers, and irregular migration candidates, the decision “simply granted immunity to illegal entry by sea,” the source argued.
Responding to claims and the criticism Morocco endured during the mass crossing, the source stated that the ruling was well known among Spanish authorities, who cannot ignore that this decision weakened the entire system tackling irregular migration.
The source emphasized that Morocco also was not alerted to mobilize.
“Did anyone alert Morocco so it could prepare? No. Did anyone anticipate the consequences, even though they were entirely foreseeable? No.”
The situation is not surprising under the circumstances, as human trafficking networks exploited the crisis.
The source concluded that the real “game changer” lies in “the gap between the triggering factor (the judge’s ruling) and the delayed response.”
The source emphasized that Morocco has been acting as a sovereign, loyal, and responsible partner in efforts to combat irregular migration, stressing that migration management is a “shared responsibility” in which Morocco has “always fulfilled its part.”
“Morocco has never acted under pressure, nor out of obligation or in response to blackmail,” the same source explained, asserting that “commitment and responsibility have always been the guiding principles of our actions.”
