Trump administration lashes out at Spain over Ceuta migration crisis
The US president speaks about the recent influx of people into the Spanish enclave in Africa: ‘Remember that picture. That’s going to be us in three years if the wrong side gets in’
At one of his lowest moments, trapped in the Iran war and unable to fix the affordability crunch, U.S. President Donald Trump is using Spain’s migration crisis to defend his controversial immigration policies — raids and persecution of migrants that end in mass deportations.
“It’s terrible,” the Republican president said in a phone interview on Fox News when he was asked about the images of thousands of Moroccan youths walking around in the Spanish exclave territory of Ceuta, located on the northern coast of Africa. “Remember that picture. That’s going to be us in three years if the wrong side gets in... If the Democrats get in, you will not live a very good life,” he warned.
Trump is four months away from the midterm elections, which most polls predict will shift control of Congress to the Democrats. The occupant of the White House sees the November vote as decisive for defining the limits of his power and the scope of his legacy. He is now using Spain’s migration crisis as a political weapon against the Democratic opposition back home.
The Republican leader has made a hard line on immigration a hallmark of his policies. He deployed immigration (ICE) and border (USBP) agents across several states to pursue undocumented immigrants, carry out raids and authorize mass deportations. The Trump administration has expelled more than 622,000 undocumented immigrants since January 2025, when he returned to the Oval Office for his second term, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The administration’s radical and harsh immigration policies have provoked a wave of backlash. At least nine people have been shot dead by ICE agents in recent months. Last January, two U.S. citizens, Reneé Good and Alex Pretti, were killed by immigration police. The incidents, occurring 10 days apart, sparked nationwide outrage that eventually led to the resignation of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Despite that, the Trump administration has continued its crusade against immigrants.
Spain’s migration crisis provides the White House with a pretext to stoke fear of immigration, attack the Democratic opposition and defend its hard-line policy. For that reason, the Trump government has launched a fierce attack on Spain. “Thank God @POTUS was elected and our country’s border no longer looks like this,” U.S. Vice President JD Vance wrote on the social network X. “These images out of Spain are an unfortunate reminder of the consequences of mass migration and the radical left-wing globalist policies that have enabled the Invasion of the West.”
White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, one of Trump’s key immigration advisers and known for his radical views, has also joined the offensive over Spain’s migration crisis. “Democrats did this to America every single day for 4 years under Biden and will do it again instantaneously, but orders of magnitude greater, if they are given any form of national power. Democrats will see your home trampled and stolen by invaders and they will rejoice,” he wrote on social media.
“Spain and other countries who have adopted this destructive philosophy should immediately reverse course or risk their own demise,” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement to Fox. “President Trump has long warned Europe what would happen if they continue to implement far-left, globalist policies, including enabling mass migration.”
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