Spanish Far-Right Party Vox Proposes Border Wall for Ceuta, Citing Migration Concerns

According to the Vox party, building a wall on the border of Ceuta will serve to defend the city from a future revolution in Morocco. Carlos Verdejo, the party’s spokesman, presented this proposal to the local Assembly. "If there is a revolution in Morocco tomorrow, how are we going to deal with the masses of Moroccan migrants arriving in Ceuta?" he asked.

The far-right party considers that the humanitarian associations working for the support and integration of migrants residing illegally in Ceuta are "mafias" dedicated to human trafficking. That is why Carlos Verdejo pleaded for the suppression of the budgets of the cities, of all public aid intended for these entities.

The Vox spokesman also asked the Assembly for an agreement to urge the Spanish government to apply the return agreements for migrants signed with third countries, including Morocco.

To defend his proposal, Verdejo went so far as to claim, without any statistics, that the areas with a high concentration of migrants are the most affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Referring then to the data from the Ministry of the Interior, he mentioned an increase in the arrival of migrants in the city. Information refuted by the deputy of the MDyC, Fátima Hamed, who rectified that according to the Ministry of the Interior, 770 migrants arrived in the city in 2020, 1,207 less than the previous year.

After this presentation by the Vox spokesman, the socialist Manuel Hernández accused Vox of promoting populism and following the path traced by the former American president, Donald Trump. The Caballas deputy, Mohamed Ali, for his part denounced the Vox party’s intention to "criminalize" migrants and accuse them, without proof, of spreading the coronavirus in Spain.

At the end of the exchanges, the motion was finally rejected by the Assembly.