Global South wants to head north and Ceuta invasion was just the latest example
Hundreds of foreign nationals surged into the United States at two Texas border crossings in August 2023, prompting a swift response from U.S. and Mexican authorities. At the official points in Brownsville and El Paso, Customs and Border Protection agents erected temporary barriers and halted traffic across the Gateway International Bridge. Mexican soldiers then stepped in to stop further mass entries from the south.
The incidents were part of a broader wave of illegal crossings that had, during 2021‑2024, seen hundreds of thousands of individuals entering the country each month. By contrast, officials say that in recent weeks the flow has dropped to only a few hundred entries a day. Many analysts attribute the decline to changes in U.S. immigration policy under the Trump administration.
When President Donald Trump took office in 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) eliminated what it called “catch‑and‑release” programs and ended the mass parole operations that had been authorized by former President Joe Biden and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. DHS officials point to a 94% increase in apprehensions and a 15‑month streak of zero releases at the border as evidence of the shift. “The Trump administration’s prompt action stemmed a man‑made disaster that allowed up to 10 million illegal aliens to enter the country with little vetting,” said a DHS spokesperson.
In the same month of July 2023, a similar surge of migrants overwhelmed the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on the North African coast. More than 72,000 non‑Spanish nationals crossed into the enclave, with the majority being Moroccans who largely returned home within a few days. The event prompted the Spanish government to deploy the army, and at least 18 people died in the crisis. Spain is now processing the arrivals under European asylum regulations, which could result in many being relocated to mainland Spain.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that around 1,200 of the migrants in Ceuta might qualify for asylum. UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have highlighted that U.S. funding has historically been used to facilitate the movement of migrants from Latin America through the United States, a strategy that critics say has helped fuel cross‑border flows.
A migrant from Chad named Mohamed Yaqoub told an Associated Press reporter that “the most important thing for us is to get the papers,” with the goal of studying in France. Yaqoub said he would not seek asylum in the first safe country he reached outside of Chad and that he plans to leave Spain once he secures documentation. “If he were truly seeking asylum, Yaqoub would have done so in the first safe country he reached,” noted the AP.
The incidents in Texas and Ceuta illustrate the ongoing demand for migration from poorer regions of the world to richer destinations in the United States and Europe. While policy changes on the U.S. side have tightened enforcement, analysts say that the underlying drivers—political instability, weak economies, and limited opportunities—remain unchanged.
As governments grapple with the human and logistical challenges of mass migration, both the United States and European nations continue to adjust border security measures, asylum procedures, and diplomatic efforts to manage the flow of people seeking better prospects across the globe.