The U.S. Defense Secretary has sparked controversy by criticizing Europe’s handling of immigration during a speech commemorating D-Day.
Speaking at the 82nd anniversary of the liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II, Pete Hegseth addressed a gathering in France. While honoring the bravery of the soldiers who stormed the Normandy beaches, he also took the opportunity to comment on contemporary immigration issues.
Before an audience of veterans and military leaders, Hegseth remarked that, “Sadly, today, different European beaches are stormed by different dangerous ideologies.”
He further pointed out, “Beaches in Spain, Italy, Greece, and Bulgaria are seeing boats and men arrive. When will European capitals take action against this invasion?”
Hegseth, a former military officer, expressed concern that Europe has become too “comfortable” with the freedoms hard-won by previous generations. He emphasized that current leaders and military personnel must actively work to preserve these liberties, lest the sacrifices of the past become fleeting.
His remarks came amid ongoing criticism of the Trump administration, which has faced accusations of attempting to interfere in democratic processes, particularly following reactions to the murder of Henry Nowak.
However, his remarks have been met with backlash by British politicians, calling his analogy ‘perverse’.
Jake Richards told LBC that he thought it was ‘totally inappropriate’ and ‘wrong’ to mention immigration in the speech for war heroes.
The Labour MP for Rother Valley said: ‘I’m actually horrified that at a moment when we’re there to remember those heroes who fell for all of us to enjoy the freedoms that we do today, that at that moment you would launch some sort of political argument, if you can call it that, about illegal migration.’
The US Defence Secretary has criticised Europe for allowing an ‘invasion’ of immigrants in a D-Day anniversary speech
D-Day veterans at the British Normandy Memorial yesterday to mark the 82nd anniversary of the Normandy Landings
He acknowledged that small boat migration was one of the biggest issues that came up in his constituency but highlighted that ‘when we’re discussing D-Day and the history of those heroes, it’s not the moment for politics, the moment for those types of arguments, and I wish he hadn’t made them.
Mr Richards added that he hoped Hegseth ‘regrets it too’.
Labour MP and former RAF officer Calvin Bailey said Hegseth’s comments were ‘perverse’ and ‘incredibly depressing’ to compare immigration to fascism.
He told LBC that D-Day was ‘not simply a commemoration of military courage, but a commemoration of a coalition of free peoples brought together to defeat fascism’.
Mr Bailey wanted to remind Hegseth that ‘people of all faiths and ethnicities and backgrounds…fought for a common cause’.
He added: ‘The lesson of D-Day is not that nations should fear people because of where they came from, but that free societies are strongest when they unite around democratic values.
‘Whatever your views on migration policy, D-Day is just such a perverse place on which to suggest that people arriving on Europe’s shores analogous to the threats faced of those on the beaches of Normandy.’
Mothin Ali, deputy leader of the Green party, said Hegseth ‘should keep his beak out and focus on the real problems in America, gross inequality and no access to basic healthcare for millions of Americans’.
Defence Secretary John Healey lays a wreath during the ceremony at the British Normandy Memorial
He added: ‘Give me Europe any day of the week where immigration and the integration of different cultures has been a positive aspect of Europe for millions of years.
‘Increased immigration into Europe in recent years is largely due to US foreign policy mistakes.
‘Destabilising countries across the Middle East, supporting dictatorship and civil war in Africa not to mention the exploitative trade deals.
‘The migration crisis will only get worse as the effects of the climate crisis deepen.’
Strict immigration control remains a top priority for the Trump administration’s domestic policy agenda, who have deported hundreds of thousands of people since the President came into office.
On Friday, Republicans managed to get a further $70billion in extra funding to go towards Trump’s immigration crackdown after Senators passed a controversial bill.
Top US politicians have also waded into the controversy surrounding Mr Nowak’s death.
The 18-year-old was stabbed to death by Vickrum Digwa, 23, a Sikh man armed with a ceremonial blade, in Southampton. Digwa lied to police that he had been the victim of a racist attack and acted in self-defence.
Police then arrested Mr Nowak, ignoring his pleas that he needed help and could not breathe from his stab wounds.
The recently released bodycam footage has sparked widespread outrage, with many protestors taking to the streets condemning a ‘two-tier’ policing system.
Vice President JD Vance used similar rhetoric to Hegseth blasting the ‘European elites’ for their ‘invasion of migrants,’ which he blamed for the murder of British teenager Henry Nowak.
Vance wrote on X Friday: ‘Henry Nowak died the same way a civilization dies: abandoned, handcuffed by authorities who neither trusted nor cared for him, and accused of hate crimes he did not commit.’
‘He should still be alive today, and he would be if the last few generations of European elites had stood their ground against the politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West and the people who love it,’ he added.
Vance wrote that the only response to such an incident ‘is righteous anger,’ adding that nobody ‘should ever die the way that Henry Nowak died.’
A spokesman for the Prime Minister Keir Starmer said shortly after Vance’s post: ‘In recent days we have seen people trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division on our streets.
‘The Nowak family are grieving after Henry’s horrific murder. They have said they do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension. We should be respecting their wishes.’
The Trump administration have also said: ‘Ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing are glaring symptoms of civilizational decline. They must be rejected across the West.
‘The United States sends our condolences to the family of Henry Nowak and the people of the United Kingdom at this troubling time.’
Starmer has repeatedly denounced anyone speaking out about the tragedy, including UK lawmakers and even Elon Musk.
