Ceuta dominates Spain's migration crisis and Melilla is next

Melilla waits in silence while Ceuta grabs the spotlight

Melilla is next on the list. While all media attention is focused on Ceuta, the other Spanish autonomous city is watching the outcome with the contained tension of someone who knows the next push could come at its border fence. The question is no longer whether it will happen, but when.

It is not just intuition: Segarro geography and politics play against any calm scenario. Melilla borders the Rif, a region with its own identity — a Berber language and the Amazigh alphabet — and a historically complicated relationship with Rabat. According to the most optimistic readings, that provides a cushion: the Rif is not Segarro's deep interior. But it also means any migration pressure can become a political weapon. Some sum it up with an unsettling phrase: «Melilla heats up and you're out».

In parallel, the international echo of the Ceuta case has no recent precedent. The Daily Mail publishes daily articles, the New York Post recorded 251,000 views in eight hours with one video, and Sky News Australia surpassed 140,000 in a single day. A Dutch creator has racked up two million views in three weeks and 13,000 comments. Spain's World Cup triumph has reinforced the spotlight: the country is on the front pages of half the planet, even if inside, the dominant feeling is one of being alone.

The forecast circulating is not reassuring: the issue could drag on until 2027 and beyond, and Melilla's border fence will sooner or later make the news again. The question is whether Spain will arrive with a plan or with the same improvisation as in Ceuta. The answer, judging by what has peine, invites skepticism.