Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro announced today that he wants tighter checks along the country’s land and sea borders in the south, in response to the migration crisis in Ceuta.

“There are reasons to strengthen the presence of law enforcement in border control,” particularly in southern Portugal, Montenegro said.

The Portuguese prime minister made the statement following the entry of around 60,000 migrants into Ceuta, Spain’s enclave in Africa, in recent days, after they crossed the border with Morocco illegally.

“I don’t believe there’s reason to take steps like suspending Schengen area rules,” Montenegro added, however. “The situation is serious, but there are mechanisms to address it in controlled ways.”

The Portuguese government said shortly beforehand that law enforcement would act “in coordination” with the corresponding Spanish services.

The parliamentary group of the far-right Chega party announced it will file a motion to reinstate checks at Portugal’s land border with Spain.

Police forces reinforced in France too

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced today that the number of police officers and gendarmes deployed on an emergency basis at the border with Spain will increase, because of the mass influx of migrants from Morocco into Ceuta.

Writing on X, he said that starting today, “reinforcements are tripling, with 184 officers mobilized and stepped-up drone surveillance.”

“From tomorrow, Saturday, they will increase fivefold, bringing the number of police and gendarmes deployed on an emergency basis, on top of the personnel normally mobilized, to 334,” he said.

France’s interior minister also said three Border Police aircraft will support operations along the French-Spanish border, and that patrols on trains running from Spain will be stepped up.