Rabat – Authorities in Melilla announced the repatriation of 30 migrants to Morocco on Saturday, October 20.
El Faro de Melilla reported that the migrants will be deported in accordance with the treaty signed between Morocco and Spain in 1992 on migrant deportation.
The repatriated migrants, who were transferred to Melilla, were rescued from the sea by Spanish authorities on October 19.
The list of migrants includes asylum seekers and women.
Last week, Spanish news outlet El Pais reported that 40 Moroccan migrants who arrived in the Spanish port of Motril on October 8 applied for asylum.
The 40 Moroccans were a group of activists involved in the Al Hoceima protests, which took place in 2016 and 2017 to condemn social disparities in Morocco’s northern Rif region.
In September, Melilla’s Minister of Social Welfare Daniel Ventura said that 86 minor migrants bypassed border controls and entered Melilla in August alone.
On October 3, Melilla Mayor-President Juan Jose Imbroda announced that the local government in the enclave will send a list of undocumented Moroccan minors to Morocco’s Ministry of Interior for potential repatriation.
Spanish Secretary of State for Security Ana Botella announced in a meeting in Essaouira, near Agadir, on September 14 that Moroccan authorities agreed to receive the identified and unaccompanied minors.
Morocco’s Minister of Interior Abdelouafi Laftit met on Saturday with his Spanish counterpart Fernando Grande-Marlaska to discuss migration issues in Madrid.
The Spanish official emphasized that his government is urging the EU to assist Morocco financially to secure the border.
