The Supreme Court of Spain ruled on Monday that the deportation of hundreds of young Moroccans from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in August 2021, following a mass border crossing, was illegal. This decision strikes a blow to the migration policy of the left-wing coalition government. The judges rejected an appeal filed by the government against a previous ruling by a local court in Ceuta that ordered Madrid to return the Moroccan youths to Spain, deeming their expulsion illegal.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior stated that the ministry "fully respects judicial rulings" but did not provide further comments on the judgment or its implications. The unaccompanied minor migrants arrived in Ceuta with 12,000 others in May 2021, amid a diplomatic conflict between Madrid and Rabat regarding Western Sahara. About 700 of them were returned to Morocco in mid-August after an agreement between the two neighboring countries.
The Supreme Court emphasized that "the mass deportation of minors not only violates local immigration laws but also infringes on the European Convention on Human Rights."
