State Department raises travel warning for part of Spain as migrant surge sparks military deployment

The State Department on Saturday raised its Travel Advisory for Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta to Level 3: Reconsider Travel after tens of thousands of migrants surged into the Spanish territory from neighboring Morocco, prompting a major security response.

The updated advisory warns that the "massive and uncontrolled arrival of migrants from Morocco to Ceuta may lead to unpredictable and dangerous security situations."

"Spain has deployed the Spanish military, Spanish National Police, and Guardia Civil as a result of this serious situation," the advisory states. "Americans should reconsider travel to the area given the risks posed to their safety and security."

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The advisory applies only to Ceuta, an autonomous Spanish city on the northern coast of Africa that borders Morocco. The rest of Spain remains under its existing travel advisory level.

Spanish officials have scrambled to respond after tens of thousands of migrants crossed into Ceuta this week. Ceuta President Juan Jesús Vivas said Friday that about 60,000 migrants entered the enclave over a 24-hour period, while Spain's Interior Ministry later estimated roughly 50,000 arrivals since Thursday. Authorities said thousands have since returned to Morocco.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Spain would boost the presence of security forces in Ceuta, deploy a physical sea barrier to help facilitate repatriations and continue working with Moroccan authorities to combat human trafficking networks.

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Authorities have linked the migrant surge to a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling involving migrants arriving by sea. Sánchez said human trafficking organizations misrepresented the decision, triggering the influx.

The crisis also drew comments from President Donald Trump during a Cabinet meeting Friday at Camp David.

"You know, I saw Spain yesterday, and I watched the catastrophe that took place. It looks like an invasion of a country by hundreds of thousands of people. And that same thing is going to happen to us if the Republicans don't get elected," Trump said.

Earlier Friday, Trump also told Fox News chief White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich: "It's terrible. Remember that picture. That's going to be us in three years if the wrong side gets in."

Ceuta, along with the Spanish enclave of Melilla, has long been a flashpoint for illegal migration into Europe because both territories sit on the African mainland while remaining part of Spain and the European Union.