Spanish PP pushes hot‑return policy for migrants swimming to Ceuta and Melilla

The People's Party (PP) will introduce a amendment to Spain's Foreign Nationals Law to allow "hot returns" of migrants who reach the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta or Melilla by swimming. The proposal was announced in Palma by PP deputy secretary for sectoral coordination and MEP Alma Ezcurra, who said the measure aims to give legal cover to security forces that currently lack authority to reject sea‑borne entrants.

Ezcurra noted a recent Supreme Court ruling limits returns to those who breach physical barriers such as the fence, leaving those intercepted at sea without legal tools. The amendment would apply only to Ceuta and Melilla, not to the Balearic Islands where arrivals occur by boat. She also highlighted a surge in irregular arrivals to the Balearics – around 600 migrants in the past week, including 350 in four days – and called for stronger border control, cooperation with Sahel countries, and more police personnel.