Protests break out in Madrid over Spanish government's handling of migrant invasion

Citizens in Madrid protest the migrant invasion in Ceuta.

Demonstrators took to the streets of Spain's capital city on Sunday to protest the government's handling of the migrant invasion of Ceuta, a Spanish enclave located on the northern tip of Africa, last week. Wild scenes of illegal immigrants storming over the border and wreaking havoc in Ceuta sent shockwaves throughout Europe and much of the world. 

"The vast majority of those who entered have already returned to Morocco,” José Manuel Albares, Spain's foreign affairs minister, said in an interview Monday morning, according to Bloomberg News. Spanish officials now say about 69,500 illegal immigrants who breached the border last week have returned to Morocco, increasing earlier estimates that put the figure at 50,000 to 60,000, Reuters reported. Juan Jesus Vivas, Ceuta's president-mayor, said between 3,000 and 5,000 migrants still remain in the enclave.

Spanish officials also installed a floating barrier just off the coast in the waters of the Strait of Gibraltar to curb further invasions. But the floating barrier and the illegal immigrants being sent back hasn't been enough to ease the concerns of some citizens who protested the government's handling of migration. 

About 1,500 protesters turned out in the streets of Madrid and outside Morocco's embassy to Spain in protest of the invasion and the government response, according to The Associated Press. "A disgrace that also seems they knew was going to happen," Gema Lopez, one of the protesters, said. "They let it happen," she added. 

Another protester, Eduardo Arroyo, didn't mince words while speaking with a reporter. "Many call it an invasion -- indeed it is. It's a demographic invasion," Arroyo said. "I find it outrageous and it shows that the political class in Spain does not fulfill the interests of the people. It is completely disconnected from what people think, what people say, and what people feel."

Many in the U.S. found the scenes emerging from Ceuta last week disturbing and reminiscent of what the southern border looked like during the Biden administration. Below, watch for more on the protests in Spain.