Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used a D-Day speech in France on Saturday to criticize Europe over its migration policies, saying that \u201cdangerous ideologies\u201d were storming the continent\u2019s shores, in what he compared to an \u201cinvasion.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the 82nd anniversary of D-Day, the largest seaborne invasion in history<\/a>, Mr. Hegseth made the speech at the Normandy American Cemetery<\/a> before nearly 9,400 graves of American soldiers, most of whom died in the assault on June 6, 1944, and the operations that followed. The anniversary is usually regarded as a time to commemorate unity<\/a> among Allied countries that fought against Nazi Germany.<\/p>\n In his remarks, Mr. Hegseth said that \u201cfreedom is not free\u201d and especially praised the role played by American troops, but said that over the past eight or so decades, some European countries had grown \u201ccomfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cToday, different European beaches are stormed by different dangerous ideologies,\u201d he said. \u201cBoats and men arrive. When will European capitals do something about that invasion? Or is it too late?\u201d<\/p>\n The comments appear to reflect the United States\u2019 recently updated national security strategy around the world<\/a>, which warned that Europe was on a path to becoming \u201cunrecognizable\u201d because of migration policies that it said were undermining the national identities of European countries. The document provoked sharp retorts from across Europe.<\/p>\n Many of the Trump administration\u2019s assertions on immigrants in Europe overlap with the language of far-right political parties in European countries, which have seen an increase in support since a migration crisis that peaked between 2014 and 2016<\/a>. The European Union\u2019s border agency, Frontex, reported that unauthorized border crossings dropped by a quarter<\/a> in 2025, continuing a yearslong trend.<\/p>\n On Friday, Vice President JD Vance also criticized European migration policies, when he commented on the 2025 killing in England of Henry Nowak, an 18-year-old who had been handcuffed by police as he lay dying after being stabbed<\/a> by a man, who was Sikh.<\/p>\n In a post on social media, Mr. Vance<\/a> blamed Mr. Nowak\u2019s death on \u201cEuropean elites\u201d and \u201cthe mass invasion of migrants.\u201d Britain\u2019s government condemned Mr. Vance\u2019s comments<\/a>, according to the BBC<\/a>, saying that the vice president was interfering in its democracy and seeking to create further division.<\/p>\n