US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a speech on June 6 at the American military cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, marking the 82nd anniversary of the D-Day landings in World War II [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. He described migration to European shores as an "invasion," naming Spain, Italy, Greece, and Bulgaria as affected countries. "Sadly, today, different European beaches are stormed by different dangerous ideologies," Hegseth said. "Boats and men arrive. When will European capitals do something about that invasion?" [1] He stressed that Europeans have grown too comfortable with their freedoms since D-Day and warned that the sacrifices made during the war must be defended by current leaders and warfighters or "what they fought for was merely temporary" [1].
Hegseth urged European countries to strengthen their defense capabilities and increase cooperation with the United States in security efforts [2, 3, 4]. His comments follow previous criticism from US leaders, including Vice-President JD Vance and former President Donald Trump, targeting European migration policies [1, 3, 6]. Migration has become a critical political issue with hardline immigration parties gaining support across Europe.
Between April 2025 and March 2026, 169,341 people arrived by sea to Europe through the UK, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Cyprus. About 23% of those arrivals were to the UK [1, 6]. From January 1 to June 3, 2026, 9,142 people crossed the English Channel from France to the UK by small boats, a 38% decrease compared with the same period last year [1, 6].
Hegseth did not attend the main international D-Day commemoration ceremony in nearby Langrune-sur-Mer, with locals there opposing his presence. Sylvie Lamy Thepaut, a resident, said, "He has very warlike views and it seems to us that this man does not share our democratic values" [5].
The D-Day anniversary honors the largest seaborne military operation of 1944, when UK, US, and Canadian forces landed on five Normandy beaches to begin liberating Western Europe from Nazi occupation [1, 3, 6].
