ABSTRACT

When Spain joined the Schengen Agreement in 1991, the North African city of Ceuta 1 started to gradually turn into a key hub of irregular sub-Saharan migration to the European Union 2 (see Alscher 2005; Berriane and Aderghal 2009; Carling 2007; Driessen 1996; Fekete 2004; Ferrer-Gallardo 2008, 2011; Gold 1999; Mutlu and Leite 2012; Planet 1998; Saddiki 2010; Soddu 2002, 2006). Since then, both the increasing securitization of its border and the fluctuant – though persistent – arrival of migrants have transformed the socio-spatial nature of this territory. These transformations have subsequently influenced migrants’ perceptions vis-à-vis the destinations and trajectories they take into consideration during their decision-making process. They have had an impact on spatial behaviour in key migration routes towards the European Union.