By Ahmed El Jechtimi and Corina Pons FNIDEQ, Morocco/CEUTA, Spain, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Migrants who swam or jumped over fences to rush into Spain's African enclave of Ceuta this week were returning home on Saturday,

Most of those who came to the territory, a Spanish exclave in Africa, have returned across the border to Morocco. At least 67 people died trying to enter, the authorities said.

The mass crossing into Ceuta caused division in Europe, with Italy threatening to suspend the EU’s internal open border scheme.

At least 18 migrants died trying to reach the Spanish territory of Ceuta after tens of thousands of people breached the frontier with Morocco and poured into the tiny Spanish territory.

Ceuta migration influx has resulted in tens of thousands of migrants who originally travelled into the Spanish territory to return to North Africa; Spain to put up containment fence.

Most of the migrants returned to Morocco after as many as 60,000 overwhelmed the tiny Spanish territory of Ceuta.

Hundreds of migrants from Morocco have swum into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta over the last week.

Whether or not Spain manages to resolve the latest migrant crisis, it has highlighted the irritation of many European governments with Mr Sánchez’s relaxed immigration policy. During the migrant influx in 2021 other Europeans displayed solidarity with Spain. The European Commission declared that “Spanish borders are European borders.”

President Donald Trump said during a Cabinet meeting that similar scenes of migrants flooding into Spain could play out in the U.S. if Democrats gain power.

The arrivals in Ceuta, a six-mile-long peninsula on Morocco’s northern coast that Spain has governed for centuries, have fueled political tensions.

The pro-immigration leader is facing backlash at home and abroad after roughly 60,000 people crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave.