Italy and Spain end border crisis sparked by Ceuta invasion

Italy and Spain end border crisis sparked by Ceuta invasion, but approximately 15,000 migrants still demand asylum

Published October 22, 2026 4:03pm ET Updated October 22, 2026 4:03pm ET

The governments of Italy and Spain have buried the hatchet after months of hostility caused by the migrant invasion of Ceuta in North Africa, but the city remains a hot spot of illegal immigrants.

Interior Ministers Matteo Piantedosi of Italy and Fernando Grande-Marlaska of Spain announced Thursday that the two nations would be simultaneously normalizing their Schengen Area agreement. Italy suspended free movement from Spain in July after 70,000 migrants, mostly from Morocco, flooded into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Spain almost immediately retaliated with border checks of their own aimed at Italian travelers.