Sub-Saharan Migrants in Morocco Face Harsh Crackdown

Migrants make the dangerous crossing from Morocco into Spain

In the latest case of anti-migrant expulsions in Morocco, officials announced Monday that 141 sub-Saharan African immigrants would be deported after attempting to cross a border fence surrounding the Spanish enclave of Melilla in the north of the country on October 28, Reuters reports. One migrant is dead, and 12 others injured after the attempt.

Morocco has instigated a severe crackdown on sub-Saharan immigrants in recent months, especially in late July after 800 migrants stormed the border of the Spanish territory of Ceuta, near Tangier, said the Local. This came just as Spain surpassed Italy as the number one destination for migrants reaching Europe by boat, and resources in many southern Spanish towns were stretched thin, reported News24.

After the incident––the largest-scale attempt to cross the heavily-guarded Melilla border since February––Moroccan authorities vowed to crack down on the waves of sub-Saharan immigrants that were attempting to reach Spain through its Moroccan enclaves, the only European land borders in Africa, said the Week. The move was described as an attempt to combat the influence of “trafficking gangs,” which were allegedly emboldened by the mass Ceuta storming in July.

Since then, Amnesty International estimates that 5,000 immigrants have been rounded up in raids and forced onto buses that carry them to the Algerian border or the country’s desertous southern border, where they are abandoned. The human rights group called the practice “cruel and unlawful.”

Other human rights groups heavily criticized the transfer policy in September, when it was discovered that two Malian migrants had died en route, one of whom was just 16-years-old, said InfoMigrants. The circumstances of their deaths remain unclear.

According to Africanews, many of the deported migrants simply return, hiding out in forest camps near Tangier and planning further attempts to get to Spain. Even these makeshift camps are not safe, as officials Amnesty International has accused officials of setting them on fire, burning migrants’ belongings, and stealing their mobile phones.

Morocco’s radical tactics appear to be a troubling lapse in the country’s movement towards more liberal immigration policy. King Mohammed VI in 2013 enacted new laws that allowed for the regularization of unlawful African immigrants, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

On November 1, Morocco responded to increased migratory outflows from sub-Saharan Africa by instituting an online entry permit rule, Reuters reports. Travelers must fill out the form at least 96 hours before leaving their home countries. Morocco’s embassy in Mali issued a statement about the new policy, stating that it “aims to facilitate passenger traffic…It will help Moroccan authorities know in advance the identity of travelers before boarding [planes].” According to Reuters, the North African country’s new approach directly affects Congolese, Malian, and Guinean nationals. The Moroccan government’s recent directive is part of its larger strategy to halt an influx of migrants trying to get to Europe. Whether the country will continue further with its policy of raids and deportations, or completely revert back to its 2013 standard remains to be seen.