Hundreds of migrants who illegally entered the Spanish territory of Ceuta last month protested Sunday, demanding asylum as Spanish authorities dealt with thousands who remain in the North African enclave.

More than 70,000 migrants, primarily from Morocco, entered Ceuta by swimming around coastal barriers or crossing border fences during the massive influx. Most have since returned to Africa, but an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 remain, according to Reuters.

Many migrants have said they came to Spain seeking employment, an economic motivation that generally does not qualify someone for asylum.

Protesters carried Spanish flags and signs reading “We don’t want to go back to Morocco” and “We ⁠are also human,” Reuters reported. Demonstrators also chanted, “We’re tired” and “We need a solution.”

Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said the migrants would not be permitted to remain in Ceuta, travel to mainland Spain or obtain legal status, according to Reuters.

The mass entry has strained the territory, which normally has a population of about 80,000. Health officials reported outbreaks of infectious diarrhea and scabies following the influx, along with increased treatment for stab wounds and other violence-related injuries.

Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia rejected attempts to link the illnesses to the migrant population.

“To associate migration with illness is unjust and xenophobic,” Garcia said.

Authorities also face questions about approximately 1,300 unaccompanied migrant minors still in Ceuta. Local officials have advocated returning the children, while other Spanish officials have argued they should receive refuge.

The border crisis followed a Spanish Supreme Court ruling restricting authorities’ ability to immediately return migrants arriving by sea.

It also comes as socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pursues an aggressive immigration agenda. His government has offered a pathway to legal status for more than 1 million migrants, a policy Sánchez has presented as an alternative to the immigration restrictions favored by conservative governments.

Sunday’s migrant demonstration followed a protest by Ceuta residents a week earlier, where participants accused Madrid of abandoning the territory amid the crisis.