The far-right Vox takes its crusade against migrants to hospitals and asks to deport patients from Ceuta who are not seriously ill

The far-right Vox has moved its offensive against migrants in Ceuta to the hospital doors. Santiago Abascal's party registered a non-legislative proposal in Congress this Wednesday to restrict healthcare for people in irregular situations and expel patients who do not require urgent or vital treatment to Morocco.

The initiative requests that those admitted to the University Hospital of Ceuta who do not present an immediate emergency be transferred by medical transport to the Moroccan border. Vox intends for them to continue their treatment there, without specifying what coordination would exist with Moroccan medical services or how continuity of care would be guaranteed.

The far-right party also includes patients with tuberculosis, impetigo, fever, scabies, or other infectious or parasitic diseases. In these cases, it demands their "immediate" transfer to Morocco with protective measures. The decision on remaining in the hospital would thus be linked to the patient's administrative status, beyond the clinical and epidemiological assessment carried out by professionals.

Vox has also registered another initiative to demand the return of all people who entered Ceuta since July 30. It also calls for age tests for young people, the return of minors to their families or Moroccan social services, and for the Government to assume responsibility for any crimes these individuals might commit in the future, a preventive accusation directed against the entire group.

The law recognizes healthcare

The far-right justifies its proposal by the "collapse" that, in its opinion, Ceuta's healthcare system is experiencing. It cites nearly 6,000 assists since the beginning of the crisis, warnings from doctors and nurses, and waiting lists that already presented serious problems before the massive entry. The pressure on professionals and healthcare centers is real, but the solution proposed by Vox involves excluding patients based on their origin and transferring them to the border.

The current legal framework precisely recognizes the opposite. Royal Decree-Law 7/2018 establishes that foreign persons without legal residence have the right to health protection and healthcare under the same conditions as Spaniards. Royal Decree 180/2026 reinforced this coverage this year and guaranteed full assistance to all minors, pregnant women, and applicants for international protection.

Epidemiologists have also warned against the narrative linking migration and disease. The president of the Spanish Society of Epidemiology, João Forjaz, has explained that outbreaks of scabies, impetigo, or gastrointestinal infections appear due to overcrowding, lack of drinking water, and deficient housing conditions. These are also common conditions in residences, shelters, or camps within Spain.

"Thinking that migrants bring diseases is medically wrong and dangerous," the specialist pointed out. Separating patients or hindering their access to the system can delay diagnoses, interrupt treatments, and complicate the control of possible contagions. Epidemiological surveillance requires locating, treating, and monitoring the sick, exactly the tasks that would be more difficult after their hurried transfer to another country.

From "hunting" migrants to expelling them from the hospital

The health proposal comes accompanied by a new Vox campaign on social media. "OUT of Spain immediately ALL those who do not respect women!", the party proclaimed in a message disseminated this Wednesday to present aggressions as another argument in favor of deportations.

The sudden role of defender of women contrasts with the party's own trajectory. Vox has repeatedly demanded the repeal of the Comprehensive Law against Gender Violence and the suspension of the State Pact, rejects the concept of sexist violence and proposes replacing it with that of intrafamily violence. In various autonomous governments, it has also assumed powers over equality despite maintaining this discourse.

The instrumentalization of women is part of a strategy with which the ultra-right formation tries to systematically associate immigration, crime, and insecurity. The message omits any individual analysis of the facts and attributes to an entire collective the conduct of those who may commit crimes, while turning victims into ammunition to support its migratory proposals.

The escalation began during the first days of the crisis with José María Figaredo. The general secretary of the Vox parliamentary group assured that migrants had to be "hunted" and "fished" one by one to return them to Morocco. The Ministry of Equality sent his statements to the Prosecutor's Office to assess whether they could constitute a hate crime, and several organizations have filed complaints against the deputy.

Vox has now gone from talking about human beings as prey to demanding that they be removed from hospitals. The two non-legislative proposals must be debated in the Health and Interior commissions and lack binding effects on their own, although they will allow the far-right to bring to Congress its demand to restrict treatments and expel patients to the Moroccan border.