Spain announced Friday that the vast majority of the more than 50,000 migrants who surged into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco have already returned. Spanish government officials stated that approximately 48,300 individuals had departed by late Friday afternoon, just over 24 hours after the initial influx began.

During the unprecedented rush, which saw migrants cross by land and sea, at least 57 individuals died. Spanish authorities recovered 57 bodies on the Spanish side, with additional casualties suspected on the Moroccan side. Some migrants drowned, while others died from being crushed while attempting to scale the border fence.

Moroccan forces used batons and tear gas in an effort to prevent further crossings and manage crowds attempting to breach the border into the small Spanish territory. On the Spanish side, military vehicles were deployed along sections of the border. Migrants who had crossed described a lack of food and shelter in Ceuta, with some expressing disillusionment and a desire to return.

"Honestly, I don’t even know why I came, and now I’m going back," one young Moroccan man told Reuters. Another migrant, a 20-year-old hairdresser, stated he had swum for five hours to reach Ceuta and found no sustenance, recounting being "kicked out badly by the (Spanish) army."

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited Ceuta and characterized the mass crossing as a "violation of Spain’s territorial sovereignty." He indicated that repatriation efforts were being expedited with Morocco's cooperation.

Ceuta and the neighboring Spanish enclave of Melilla are the European Union's only land borders with Africa and periodically experience surges in migrant attempts to reach Europe. However, the scale of this recent event was described as unprecedented.

Political reactions to the event have been sharp. Right-wing parties in Europe have attributed the surge to Spain's migration policies. Italy announced the suspension of Schengen border-free travel arrangements with Spain, a move Madrid contested as a violation of EU treaties. U.S. President Donald Trump called the crossings an "invasion" and warned of similar occurrences in the U.S. if Republicans were not elected. The U.S. State Department, in a statement, directly blamed the Spanish government's policies for the incident, stating it was considering actions to "defend Americans at home and abroad."