Why Thousands of Moroccan Migrants Crossed Into the Spanish Exclave Ceuta

A Spanish territory in northern Africa is experiencing a humanitarian and security crisis after thousands of migrants continue to swim across the border from Morocco, with at least 24 dying in the chaos.Footage and images show scores of people, many of whom appear to be young men, bypassing the Tarajal border fence between Morocco and the Spanish exclave of Ceuta. Ceuta has long been considered a gateway for migrants seeking better lives in Europe, and the city has progressively fortified its border in response to perennial illegal border crossings. But Thursday saw a yet-to-be-explained surge: come Friday morning, Spain’s interior ministry estimated that some 49,000 migrants rushed into Ceuta in the previous 24 hours, though the government statement was later removed without explanation. Centers that receive migrants have been overwhelmed, while parks and streets were crowded with people from across the border.Juan Jesús Vivas, Ceuta’s President, called the crisis “a situation of absolute humanitarian and social emergency” on radio station Cadena SER on Thursday and asked that Ceuta be placed under a “national emergency.”The Moroccan government is asking its citizens who have cros...