Spanish Port City Braces for Surge of Moroccan Expats Heading Home

In a letter addressed to the European authorities of which Europa Press has a copy, he asks the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya, to provide him with information on the reopening of the Moroccan borders. "There will be hundreds of thousands of North Africans arriving in Algeciras in their vehicles with the intention of crossing the Strait of Gibraltar to join their countries of origin," says the Spanish mayor, who fears that this situation will paralyze his city.

Realizing the situation, Mr. Landaluc intends to "strengthen all the necessary mechanisms to guarantee the safety of the city’s residents with regard to the passage through the borders of citizens of other countries, and thus avoid what could, unfortunately, be a major public health problem." Already, he announced on Sunday the effective launch of extension and redevelopment work on the pre-boarding area known as Amarillo.

If this annual transit operation has worked perfectly so far thanks to the coordination of all the administrations concerned, he believes there is reason to worry this year. "All this is complicated today after the decision of the Moroccan authorities to renounce the Marhaba operation, and to want to allow at the same time its nationals residing abroad to enter its territory," he says, adding that "without Moroccan collaboration, we fail. Morocco is a fundamental support for the transit operation".