US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth used a speech marking the 82nd anniversary of D-Day in Normandy to criticise European migration policies, comparing migrant arrivals on the continent's shores to an "invasion".
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Speaking at commemorations in northern France, Hegseth said Europe now faced new threats to the freedoms secured by Allied forces during the Second World War.
Migration Compared to an 'Invasion'
Referring to migrant arrivals across southern Europe, Hegseth said beaches in Spain, Italy, Greece and Bulgaria were being "stormed" by people arriving by boat.
"Sadly, today, different European beaches are stormed by different dangerous ideologies," he said. "Boats and men arrive. When will European capitals do something about that invasion?"
Migration remains a major political issue across Europe, where support has grown for parties advocating stricter immigration controls and tighter border security.
Part of Wider Trump Administration Criticism
Hegseth's remarks are the latest criticism of European migration policies from senior members of the Trump administration.
Earlier on Friday, US Vice-President JD Vance linked the killing of British student Henry Nowak to what he called a "mass invasion of migrants" and said the "only response" should be "righteous anger".
The UK government rejected those comments. Downing Street criticised "people trying to interfere in our democracy" and noted that Nowak's family had said they did not want his death used to create further division.
The Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed that Vickrum Digwa, who was convicted over the killing, was born in Britain.
D-Day Legacy and European Security
During his address, Hegseth said some European nations had become too comfortable with freedoms won through sacrifice and conflict.
He argued that the lessons of D-Day remained relevant and that current leaders must continue to defend those freedoms.
"The men who fought and died here restored freedom to Europe," he said. "That freedom must be maintained by this generation of leaders and war fighters or what they fought for was merely temporary."
D-Day, launched on 6 June 1944, was the largest seaborne military operation in history. Tens of thousands of troops from the United Kingdom, United States and Canada landed on five beaches in Normandy as part of the campaign to liberate Western Europe from Nazi occupation.
Migration Remains a Key Political Issue
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised European immigration policies. Speaking at the United Nations last year, he said European countries were "going to hell" because of what he described as uncontrolled migration.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer responded by saying those comments were "not right", while acknowledging the challenge posed by illegal migration, particularly crossings of the English Channel in small boats.
According to the United Nations, more than one million people crossed the Mediterranean into Europe during the migration crisis of 2015.
Between April 2025 and March 2026, the UK, Greece, Italy, Spain and Cyprus recorded a combined 169,341 sea arrivals, with the UK accounting for about 23% of the total.
Official figures show that 9,142 people crossed the English Channel from France to the UK by small boat between 1 January and 3 June 2026, a decline of 38% compared with the same period a year earlier.
Immigration Central to Trump's Agenda
Immigration enforcement has remained a cornerstone of the Trump administration's domestic agenda.
A National Security Strategy published in December warned that Europe could become "unrecognisable" within two decades if current migration trends continued.
Meanwhile, agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have carried out thousands of arrests since January 2025 as part of the administration's broader crackdown on illegal immigration.
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Adapted by ASEAN Now. Source 7 June 2026