Authorities indicated that the number of deportations was expected to increase as repatriation operations continued.
Spain has deported approximately 37,500 of the estimated 60,000 migrants who entered its North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco since early Friday, as the government moved swiftly to contain what it described as an unprecedented border crisis and a direct assault on the country's territorial integrity.
Spain's Interior Ministry said that more than half of those who crossed irregularly into the enclave had been returned to Morocco by 1 p.m. local time on Friday, according to Euro News.
Authorities indicated that the number of deportations was expected to increase as repatriation operations continued.
The large-scale movement of migrants overwhelmed security agencies and local authorities in Ceuta, a Spanish autonomous city with a population of fewer than 83,000 people.
