AIBU to be deeply concerned about the recent influx of 30k+ undocumented arrivals in Spain?

[ChirpyUmberBiscuit]

AIBU to feel really unsettled by the recent news coming out of Spain and Ceuta? Reports are showing that tens of thousands of undocumented migrants have crossed over in such a short window, completely overwhelming local infrastructure, reception centers, and security forces.

I know migration is always a sensitive and compassionate topic, but looking at these numbers practically, I don't see how any European border region can absorb 30,000 to 50,000 arrivals almost overnight without severe strain on public resources, local housing, and emergency services.

What worries me even more is the precedent it sets for the rest of Europe and the UK down the line. Surely there has to be a firm balance between humanitarian support and actual, enforceable border control?

Am I being completely unreasonable to view this as a serious policy and security crisis, or are others feeling equally concerned about where this leads?

Would love to hear honest thoughts on how this should actually be handled!

I imagine that the impact on the UK will be zero.

They are clearly desperate to start a new life so why don’t we give them a chance? Let’s be honest, I think we’d all be doing the same if we were in their situation.

What does giving them a chance look like to you?

What do you mean going to be. It already is.

https://www.exteriores.gob.es/es/Comunicacion/Exteriores-Explica/Paginas/2026_Articulos/Ceuta,-Melilla.aspx

Please. Just read the above. It will give you important information.

Are you seriously for real?

Are you going to house and pay for them then? Are you going to let them stay with you?

You're getting me mixed up with someone else. I'm not at all worried about any impact on the UK. And I know the reasons for this incident too because I read about it in the press. I only questioned the numbers and told you that many of us knew that some had returned to Morocco. You've used it as an opportunity to give a lecture to shoehorn in Brexit and , surprise surprise, Reform!

Got to get the daily Reform mentionitis in.

Always. You could almost bet on it. There was no need at all to mention Brexit or Reform in a reply to my post.

Finally, some may have read that there has been a recent ruling of the Tribunal Supremo which from what I can gather is being reported in the British press as "once they are here if they come by sea they can't be sent back"

So - of course - that is not to say that anyone who swims to Spain has hit the jackpot and gets handed an ID card and their social security number to start working.

What the ruling actually deals with, and you can read it here

https://www.poderjudicial.es/search/openDocument/8cf9f3925b1a7672a0a8778d75e36f0d

is that people who arrived by sea having not crossed and clear border have not commited an illegal act in arriving in the territory and as such cannot be returned "en caliente" literally "in the heat" but basically means they can not be turned away at the "border" because there is no clear border at sea. However that doesn't mean they have a residency, or as the UK would say "the right to remain".

They would still need to meet residency criteria, most of which for the unskilled and economically deprived require a minimum of 2 years of provable physical presence, uninterrupted, a precontract for a job or proof of funds and full private health insurance, clear criminal background check, proof of having passed a particular Spanish language test etc). They would file paperwork and wait (can take months to receive an answer) At the end of that they will receive a resolution saying either that they meet the requirements for residency or that they don't in which case they would be given 15 days to leave voluntarily, which if they disobey it is often considered a disobedience to the Spanish state and as such grounds for deportation at the end of those 15 days.

The ruling was misinterpreted (perhaps deliberately...perhaps some of the social media posts that started to circulate Morocco might have had some bad actors behind them...) and it began to appear on tiktok etc that "Spain is open as long as you arrive by sea" which is often course, not the case.

Spain has now installed a floating sea border. Of course this is met with derision "anyone could climb over that" but the point is not to be a big thing you can't climb over. It is that if someone does climb over then we can see at what point they crossed the border, illegally and therefore we CAN refuse entry and return them "en caliente" if the arrive by sea and have climbed over the floating border.

Hope that helps to give more information on the situation in Ceuta.

Young Moroccans may have returned home. But men who have travelled from farther away -sub-Saharan Africa - are staying put.

And the point is we have thousands - or maybe millions - of people who want to live in Europe. They may have been thwarted this time, but they will keep trying. Other routes are available: up through Greece or to Italy.

I can sympathise, but the numbers are too great, by and large they have nothing to offer (unless people think young men make adequate care workers), their cultures are incompatible with Western ones (unless you think that women are lesser) and Europe’s benefits and housing systems would crumble in no time under the strain of hundreds of thousands of claimants.

I think you misunderstood my post. I was just trying to explain my reasoning. Sorry if it came across as a lecture. It was not directed at you personally. I am drawing parallels to our situation and the small boat arrivals here.

Discuss in a reasonable manner possibly?

We have tried that - the left just resort to calling us racist to shut down a conversation, dragging reform, Tommy, Nigel into every thread, drone on about everything being our karma due to colonialism that happened centuries ago and when we were not even born and has no relevance to 2026, make up batshit theories about global warming and tell us that British people commit crimes anyway so a few more crimes from people coming from overseas doesn’t really matter 🤷‍♀️

How are we supposed to discuss anything in a reasonable manner when they just resort to reeling off the same shit from the same script they have been using for the last 20-30 years? Usually none of it has anything to do with what we are trying to discuss!

I've just hidden the latest TR thread. Same old unsubstantiated rhetoric with nothing but name calling.

Put a thread up about the Grooming report though and it's tumbleweed town. Silence, zilch.

Yep it’s rather strange isn’t it. Every single thread goes the same way. They can’t have a reasonable discussion without resorting to name calling and accusing people of being racist. They have nothing else to say apart from the same lines every day.
Apparently it’s “racist” to talk about grooming gangs. It’s always the same, they just don’t wish to discuss it and whenever they do they just resort to hurling insults.

Calling people ‘racist’ is considered to be the ace of trumps by some, despite zero mention of race ever having been made. And for those people race and culture are synonymous.

And when you point out that not all cultures are equal and that the enlightenment and non sexist attitudes really matter, they just reiterate that you are racist.

And, of course, they point to academic literature saying all immigration (even if it starts off criminal) is ultimately economically beneficial. Of source, they never believe how hard it might be to get funded for an academic paper, for instance, looking at the issues of low skill economic migration.

And finally, of course, when you challenge them as to whether they want completely open borders, they say they don’t! But can’t articulate why based on their other views (all immigrants are an economic benefit, all cultures equal). It can be frustrating!

But, back to the Ceuta immigrants, they clearly came for a reason. It doesn’t matter that the land is geographically in Africa, it is legally in Spain, and they can apply for asylum. If it is granted, they then have the complete freedom of Europe.

I am amazed Spain has managed to return so many so quickly, I am guessing they just had no way of supporting themselves in Ceuta.

@user1471
Discuss in a reasonable manner possibly?

What form would a discussion in a reasonable manner take?

Morrocans have a whole country they can stay in (Morocco)

It's the usual but white men when talking about sexual assaults by immigrants. Then every man who goes on a Unite rally is not only a racist but a wife beater. All courtesy of news from the Guardian, of course. The paper that couldn't even quantify Morroccan immigrants breaking through to Ceuta,where other sources did - even Al Jazeera!

You are racist. And incorrect.

Great I'm a racist. So you point out exactly where I have been racist in my post. I've got time to wait.

Although people argue about the data (which can be incredibly hard to get…I wonder why), it is hard to argue that young men brought up in a culture where women are considered chattels and marriageable from the young teen years are not more likely to rape or commit sexual assault. It would be really bizarre were upbringing to have no effect on behaviour, wouldn’t it?

That doesn’t mean that, assuming their children go to school on a normal British school following the national curriculum (which, sadly, these days, many don’t) they won’t integrate over a generation or two and be no more or less likely to commit crime.

But this takes time and a will to assimilate. I think there is legitimate concern over this.

And I don’t think any of the above is in any way racist.

Well when you've got successive governments keeping pertinent data from you, you have to wonder why. I'd like to know who does and doesn't present a danger to me. No, these concerns are not racist and those who don't know its definition need to lay off. Put up or shut up.

I would consider myself fairly left wing. I have posted several detailed posts outlining pertinent points of Spanish immigration law, information about the regularizacion extraordinaria and it's history, a layman's analysis of the recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling in regards to the return of migrants who enter by sea and information from our government in the peculiarities of Ceuta in regards to it's Schengen status, data on the situation in Ceuta from sources here in Spain and no-one has made reference to any of it, preferring instead to talk about how everyone left wing just calls people racist who ask questions. I have attempted to answer these questions with proper legal information and references, and further reassure you that the chances of this impacting your country are negligible.

No response.