King Felipe met late last week with Juan Jesús Vivas Lara, president of the Autonomous City of Ceuta, which saw thousands of Moroccan migrants break into the North African enclave in recent weeks.

Even though many of them have gone back, the situation remains a political crisis in Spain. King Felipe has spoken about the gravity of the situation.

The King met with Ceuta’s president at Marivent Palace in Palma de Mallorca. The King would like to visit Ceuta, but royal visits there are politically sensitive because Morocco claims the city, which — like Melilla — have been part of Spain for hundreds of years.

King Felipe over the weekend issued a statement expressing “worry and indignation” after 50,000 migrants from Morocco crossed into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa.

Border tensions between Moroccan and Spanish territories in North African are nothing new, but the flood of people alarmed Spaniards and European allies. The migrants eventually returned to Morocco.

His Majesty, who has spoken about immigration issues before, said the state should prevent incidents like these from happening again and mourned the loss of life.

King Felipe has been working from Mallorca in the Balearic Islands, where the Spanish royals spend at least part of the summer. He stays at Marivent Palace in the outskirts of Palma and holds meetings at Almudaina Palace downtown.

Morocco claims the Spanish enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta in North Africa and the issue contributes to tensions between both nations.