Ceuta migrant crisis latest update: After 60,000 migrants from Morocco flooded Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta this week, most have now returned across the border. The breach of the European Union (EU) border has already claimed several lives, as Spanish police work to clear the autonomous territory.Spanish police cracks down on migrants to send them back amid a political battle. (Reuters)Meanwhile, on the political front, right-wing politicians have questioned the Spanish government for weak enforcement of border safety norms.67 dead as tens of thousands cross backAs per the Spanish government's statement on Saturday, 67 people have died in the border crisis so far as tens of thousands of others continue to head back, AP reported. These numbers include some who drowned while making the journey and others who died in a stampede while attempting to cross a 500-meter-long containment barrier along the breakwater fence in the sea, put in place by Spanish authorities to curb migrant entry.A handful of migrants who swam to Ceuta's urban Tarajal Beach on Saturday morning were picked up by police personnel and escorted back across the border. According to Spain's Interior Ministry, more than 48,000 migrants have now returned to Morocco.Also Read I Greece fights fires near Athens as France, Spain improveMohamed Hatri, a 23-year-old Moroccan who remained in Ceuta, claimed that the government had shut down all shops in a bid to push out migrants. “They’ve closed everything down so that we can’t buy anything to eat, to force us to return to our country,” he told AP. “But even if they close it down … we’re round to stay here, whether we’re hungry or not.”An autonomous city home to a population of 84,000 residents, life in Ceuta continues to remain bruised despite efforts to curb the crisis. “The return of people has begun satisfactorily but the process must be completed,” said Ceuta’s President Juan Jesus Vivas. “The city has not yet returned to normal.”A political battle ensuesFollowing this massive breach of the EU border, right-wing politicians in Spain have openly questioned the government for weak border policies that allowed this crisis to unfold. "To reach the breakwater that marks the border between Ceuta and Morocco, there are cordons of police and auxiliary forces, and it's obvious they've been allowed through," Ignacio Cembrero, a Spanish journalist specialised in migration in North Africa, told AFP.Cembrero further quoted a July 8 ruling by Spain's Supreme Court stating that migrants arriving by sea should not be returned as quickly as others as a possible mobilising force for the event. He further quoted possibilities of Morocoo using the crisis as an “opportunity” to diplomatically reignite its claims of sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla since its independence in 1956.Also Read I 18 migrants die as Spain deploys military to Ceuta after border surgeSurrounding concerns of the crisis spreading to mainland Europe, Spanish officials have stated that irregular entry into Ceuta does not grant one the right to move freely throughout Europe. Despite these assurances, Italy announced on Friday that it was temporarily suspending Schengen rules permitting border-free travel with Spain despite the two countries not sharing a border.France and Britain, on the other hand, expressed “solidarity” with Spain. However, France has implemented a five-fold increase in police cover along the side of its border with Spain. Portugal also plans to increase security along its southern land and maritime borders.Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, has openly criticised these decisions of other EU countries. "In the current international context, the European Union cannot afford this kind of selfish, polarising and unlawful reaction," he wrote in a letter addressed to the heads of the bloc, as per AFP's reports. He has also called for a meeting of its 27 members' interior ministers.Also Read I FACT FOCUS: Migrant crossing in Spain's Ceuta breeds unsubstantiated claimsUS president Donald Trump, known for his strict border control policies has called the migrant inflow a “catastrophe” and an “invasion”. “That same thing's going to happen to us if the Republicans don't get elected, except worse, much bigger,” he added ahead of the upcoming mid-term elections.(With inputs from agencies)