Cairo: Hani Kamal El-Din
Donald Trump, preparing to take office as the president of the United States, recently stirred the world again by confirming his intention to declare a state of emergency to combat illegal immigration. In the United States, Democrats are urgently working on plans to block such initiatives from the future leader, both at the federal and regional levels. Human rights activists warn that Trump’s new presidential term will be “much worse for migrants than the first four years,” and the measures he is preparing will be “far more draconian.”
However, here’s the paradox: Europe, which angrily criticized Trump eight years ago for his more modest steps to limit migration, is now responding far more quietly and calmly. Roger Boyes, a foreign policy columnist for The Times, explains it simply: “Trumpism has normalized in Europe… Whatever the differences between Trump and Europe, his sequel may foster some semblance of connection on key immigration issues. The often exaggerated outrage over Trump’s initial bombast and his supposed contempt for migrants has given way to a sense that there are common problems that at least deserve civilized exchanges of views.”
Put simply, Europe has changed significantly in the eight years since Trump’s first victory. Back then, any initiatives to restrict migration, and especially to deport illegal immigrants, were immediately met with fierce resistance. Those who voiced such ideas were quickly labeled as “fascists,” “right-wing extremists,” “radicals,” or at best, “marginals.” Now, this policy has become quite official in the programs of a number of European governments or major parties in ruling coalitions.
Trump “of the first coming,” despite the European Union’s unanimous condemnation of his immigration policy, seems to have pushed the first domino of a chain reaction that, over time, reached Europe. His supporter, the elected Prime Minister Boris Johnson, introduced a plan to deport migrants to distant Rwanda. The British government spent 900 million pounds on this bizarre plan, and refugee camps were already built in Rwanda to accommodate migrants. Moreover, some of them had already been partially settled—though not by illegal immigrants, but by local residents who were attracted to the vacant spaces.
Multiple courts blocked the absurd “Rwanda plan,” and this year, Britain’s new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, ceremoniously abandoned it in his first speech as head of government. However, by that time, a similar but more realistic plan to deport illegal immigrants abroad had been adopted by Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, who reached an agreement with the Albanian government. It’s particularly noteworthy that this time, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen strongly supported the idea, urging European leaders to use the agreement between Rome and Tirana as a “model example.” No one called her a fascist for it!
Nonetheless, Meloni’s plan has also failed at this stage. All 24 illegal migrants recently sent to Albania, after spending no more than 48 hours in newly built centers, were sent back by Italian courts. But the process of copying this practice seems unstoppable. The Dutch government is negotiating the deportation of illegal immigrants to Uganda, while Denmark has already built a camp in Kosovo to accommodate hundreds of deported migrants.
Even Germany—formerly a symbol of “open-door policies”—has recently signed an agreement with Uzbekistan to establish “non-bureaucratic procedures,” as Chancellor Olaf Scholz put it, to ensure that “those who need to return should return.” This list could go on. It is now harder to name a European country that isn’t attempting to devise a similar scheme.
As a result, Politico, a publication that regularly criticizes Trump and his immigration policy, has been forced to admit: “European leaders—from Hungary’s heavyweight Viktor Orban to Denmark’s socialist Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen—share one common trait: a desire to limit migration.”
This is why we are now witnessing something that seemed unthinkable during Trump’s first presidential term: Europe’s silent approval of his immigration policies. All the lofty discussions about human rights, shared liberal values, and freedoms have been sidelined. Against the backdrop of building what are essentially concentration camps to keep migrants away from the “flowering garden,” there is no room for condemning Trump. On the contrary, Europeans are now quietly awaiting the outcome of his battle against illegal immigration, and they are ready to adopt his approach if it proves successful.
