The Camp of the Ain'ts
Days after Spain was congratulated for its pro-illegal immigrant policies, a vast mob of young Muslim men swarm into Spanish territory.
From the New York Times news section a week back:
Spain Celebrates Both a Soccer Win and a Sense of Wider Success
For many fans, the World Cup victory cemented a belief that something promising — a cultural, economic and sports revival — is happening in the country.
By Jason Horowitz
Reporting from Madrid
July 20, 2026
…. By winning the world championship, only three years after their female counterparts did the same, Spain’s men’s soccer team have bolstered the sense that — amid a broader cultural, economic and sports renaissance — something promising is happening in Spain, and that to be here now is to be in the right place, at the right time. …
As other countries turn their backs on immigrants, Spain is also drawing attention, and praise from liberals, because of its government’s efforts to encourage immigration,
Until recently, a large fraction of immigrants to Spain were either northern Europeans looking for sun or Spanish-speaking Latin American Christians — i.e., less trouble on average than Muslim and/or sub-Saharan immigrants.
though not everyone in Spain sees that as a positive. Some soccer crowds have joined in anti-Muslim chants; a former prime minister said France’s diverse team did not have “any French players.” But diversity — embraced by some Spaniards even if scorned by the far right — is increasingly reflected in the national men’s soccer team.
After Spain won, its star player, the 19-year-old Lamine Yamal, a Muslim born to parents from Morocco and Equatorial Guinea, made an Islamic prostration on the field while the defeated Argentine players scuffled with his teammates behind him. Nico Williams, who delivered the game-winning assist and who is also the child of African immigrants, celebrated by giving his gold medal to his Ghanaian-born mother, who crossed the Sahara to reach Spain.
Politically, too, Spain is a standout. Though at home Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s inner circle is embroiled in graft accusations, he has emerged as a global liberal darling for positioning the country as a left-wing island amid a right-wing tide.
He has stood up to President Trump over the war in Iran, as well as taking a different stance on migration and other issues.
But then, this week:
And from Jason Horowitz again in the New York Times news section today:
Spain Mobilizes Military as Thousands of Migrants Cross Into Ceuta
The arrivals in Ceuta, a six-mile-long peninsula on Morocco’s northern coast that Spain has governed for centuries, have fueled political tensions.
By Jason Horowitz
July 30, 2026
Thousands of migrants climbed over a border fence or swam onto the shores of Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta on Thursday, prompting a mobilization of the Spanish military and fueling political tensions on the Spanish mainland.
Ceuta has been ruled by either Portugal or Spain since 1415.
… At least 18 people have died attempting to enter the territory, a spokesman for the Spanish government said on Thursday.
The arrivals were so numerous — and the potential political and security ramifications so serious — that the Spanish government on Thursday evening said that it had mobilized its armed forces to reinforce the police in Ceuta. It said in a statement that it was dispatching military platoons to enforce border security, increasing air and naval support, and sending diving teams to patrol the waters. The European Union offered to send Spain support from Frontex, its border and Coast Guard agency, to reestablish order.
“We are in a situation of total humanitarian and social emergency,” Mr. Vivas told a Spanish radio station on Thursday.
On Thursday evening, the Ceuta government added in a statement that “this is an unprecedented situation that is testing our institutional response capacity and causing profound concern among the entire citizenry.” Fernando Rodríguez Contreras, an official in the government, said the working estimate for the number of people who had crossed was in the tens of thousands, though that figure could not be confirmed.
Migration at Ceuta, and at Melilla, another autonomous Spanish city in North Africa,
Melilla is another port, this one further east on the Mediterranean’s southern shore. Melilla has been ruled by Spain since 1497.
has long been a point of tension between Morocco and Spain. The two areas constitute the European Union’s sole land border with Africa, and can draw large numbers of young men and other migrants seeking to enter the bloc. More than 10,000 people came over the border in two days in 2021, when the migration crisis reached its peak. In 2022, at least 23 migrants died in a stampede during an attempted mass crossing in Melilla. Many others have died at sea.
It was unclear on Thursday evening what had prompted the latest amassing of people in Ceuta. Analysts said it was too soon to draw conclusions but …
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