The Spanish Migration Problem

 This past week tens of thousands of Moroccans swam into the Spanish enclave of Ceute on the African coast within days of the Spanish Supreme Court ruling that no one entering by sea could be denied entry. This follows the launch of a unilateral illegal alien amnesty program by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Sanchez's program has generated more than a million applicants, twice that which was originally estimated. 

There were other factors feeding the crisis. Morocco likely allowed it to happen to pressure Spain on another matter, perhaps to attempt to reclaim the territories taken long ago as part of the Reconquista, Spain's centuries-long war of liberation against its Muslim occupiers. Morocco may have pushed the issue a little too far though; a smaller migrant rush was apparently shut down at Melilla, Spain's other African foothold. This kind of weaponization has been practiced as a form of one-sided war by weaker powers, e.g Turkey, Belarus, Cuba and others. 

The other reason migrant weaponization is effective against Western countries to begin with: the dysfunctional and outdated asylum policies left over from the Cold War.  Those limited policies morphed into pipelines allowing mass illegal immigration. These illegal aliens will request asylum and be supported by Spanish taxpayers until their asylum cases are decided, and even those rejected are not likely to be deported. 

The EU's recent migration pact was presented as a tightening of border controls, but in effect, it will serve to require other EU members to take their "fair share" of the illegals Spain has allowed in. Italy's Prime Minister has threatened to suspend the Schengen Agreement, which allowed passport-free border crossing in Europe. It will be interesting to see how Hungary (who supports strict external border controls) will accept its share of Moroccans illegals.

The timing of the Spanish Supreme Court's ruling on open borders stands in irony to our own Supreme Court's decision just days prior that allowed the president to physically prevent foreigners from crossing the border. Three of our justices that dissented on that judgment shared the suicidal view of their Spanish colleagues, that asylum law in effect applies to foreigners who aren't even in your country yet. 

If there is a saving grace to be founding this latest crisis, it may be that those who chose to violate Western sovereignty may be pushing the limits too quickly. Spain is sending the military to Cueta to restore order, though it remains to be seen whether their mission will be to push back or simply ensure an orderly process. But there is reason to hope given the EU's blessing of Poland's strong efforts to stop forced migration from Belarus. The EU has a big migration problem and it's going to take big measures to bring it under control. Hopefully before the 'collateral damage' becomes unbearable...