Hegseth Criticises Europe’s Migration Policies in D-Day Speech

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has used a D-Day anniversary speech in France to criticize European governments over migration, warning that parts of the continent are facing what he described as an “invasion” of migrants arriving by sea.

Speaking in Normandy during commemorations marking 82 years since the Allied landings that helped liberate Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II, Hegseth drew a controversial comparison between the historic military operation and modern migration flows into Europe.

“Sadly, today, different European beaches are stormed by different dangerous ideologies,” Hegseth said. Referring to migrant arrivals on the shores of Spain, Italy, Greece and Bulgaria, he asked: “When will European capitals do something about that invasion?”

Migration remains one of the most significant political issues across Europe, with several parties advocating stricter border controls and tougher immigration policies gaining support in recent years.

According to international migration data, sea arrivals into Europe reached their highest levels during the 2015 migration crisis, when more than one million people crossed the Mediterranean. Between April 2025 and March 2026, a combined 169,341 people arrived by sea in the UK, Greece, Italy, Spain and Cyprus, with crossings to the UK accounting for roughly 23% of the total.

During his address, Hegseth argued that some European countries had become too comfortable with freedoms secured through past sacrifices.

“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.”

The ceremony commemorated the historic D-Day landings of 6 June 1944, the largest seaborne military operation in history. The operation saw tens of thousands of Allied troops from the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada land on five beaches in Normandy as part of the campaign to liberate Western Europe from Nazi occupation.

Official figures show that between 1 January and 3 June 2026, 9,142 people crossed the English Channel in small boats from France to the UK, representing a 38% decline compared with the same period a year earlier.

Hegseth’s remarks are the latest criticism of European migration policies from senior members of the administration of US President Donald Trump.

Earlier this week, US Vice President JD Vance linked the fatal stabbing of British student Henry Nowak in Southampton to what he called a “mass invasion of migrants,” arguing that the appropriate response was “righteous anger.”

The comments drew criticism from the British government. A spokesperson for Downing Street said the victim’s family had expressed opposition to the case being used to deepen political divisions and criticized attempts by outside figures to interfere in British democratic debate.

Trump has also repeatedly criticized European immigration policies, previously telling the United Nations that several European countries were suffering the consequences of uncontrolled migration.

In response to similar remarks in the past, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer rejected the characterization of Europe while acknowledging the need to address illegal migration, particularly small-boat crossings across the English Channel.