Morocco Foiled 73,640 Irregular Migration Attempts in 2025

Morocco thwarted 73,640 irregular migration attempts in 2025 as the country continued to face sustained migratory pressure amid an unstable regional environment and multiple security challenges.

The figure reflects the continued mobilization of Morocco’s border and coastal surveillance systems in response to irregular migration flows.

Human trafficking and migrant-smuggling networks also remained active throughout the year, with Moroccan authorities dismantling more than 300 networks in 2025. Such groups have continued to adapt their methods while increasingly pooling criminal services and activities.

Moroccan authorities also rescued 13,595 migrants at sea during the same period. Those rescued received assistance including medical care, accommodation, support, and guidance as part of Morocco’s humanitarian approach to border management.

A further 4,372 irregular migrants benefited from voluntary return programs to their countries of origin, carried out in coordination with their diplomatic missions and with respect for their rights and dignity.

The figures point to a significant shift in migration dynamics and to the effectiveness of Morocco’s strategy against migrant-smuggling networks. The decline in interceptions also suggests a gradual reduction in irregular flows along migration routes passing through Morocco.

This trend, however, does not mean that migratory pressure across the wider region has eased.

Instead, migration routes are being reconfigured, with departures increasingly shifting toward other points, particularly in West Africa and several countries along the southern Mediterranean. The changing pattern underlines the need for a broader and more coordinated approach to migration management.

Morocco has maintained what authorities describe as a humanitarian migration policy, combining border enforcement with voluntary return mechanisms conducted in safe, orderly, and dignified conditions.

The approach seeks to balance firmness in combating trafficking and irregular migration with responsibility toward migrants and respect for their fundamental rights.

Morocco’s security cooperation with Spain has meanwhile developed into another major pillar of bilateral coordination, particularly in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism.

Since 2014, the two countries have carried out 41 joint counterterrorism operations, resulting in the arrest of 174 people linked to terrorism. Of those, 112 were arrested on Spanish territory.

Spanish authorities have repeatedly praised the effectiveness of Morocco’s General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance (DGST) and its sustained contribution to countering threats posed by terrorist networks, foreign fighter-related structures, and jihadist recruitment cells.