MADRID (Quanta Report) — In a striking address to the U.N. General Assembly, President Donald Trump took aim at European leaders for their efforts regarding irregular migration, alleging that they have inadequately curbed what he described as an invasion of illegal aliens.
Yet, this assertion comes in the context of a significant decline in irregular border crossings across Europe, which have been decreasing over the last decade. According to Frontex, the EU border control agency, irregular crossings from January to August 2024 dropped by approximately 20% compared to the previous year.
Irregular migration to Europe is on the decline
During his speech, Trump stated, Europe is in serious trouble. They’ve been invaded by a force of illegal aliens like nobody's ever seen before. However, data indicates that merely about 112,000 attempts to cross into the EU were recorded in the first eight months of 2024, compared to nearly 140,000 during the same timeframe in 2023.
Since 2015, unauthorized immigration has been a contentious issue within European politics, spurred by surges of migrants fleeing conflict zones, notably the Syrian civil war.
Following a peak in asylum applications in 2015, reports show that applications fell to around 900,000 in 2024—down 13% from 2023.
Deportation difficulties persist
Trump further claimed, Illegal aliens are pouring into Europe, and nobody’s doing anything to change it, to get them out, yet EU officials have been grappling with the execution of deportation orders. More than 400,000 undocumented individuals are ordered to leave annually, but only about 20% are deported, largely due to geographic and bureaucratic obstacles.
As Trump noted the substantial proportion of foreign nationals populating European prisons, while some of his numbers were slightly skewed, there remains a notable presence of foreign inmates in several countries. For instance, in Germany, the foreign-born population in prisons is around 37%, rather than 50% as Trump suggested.
Trump’s commentary on London's mayor proposing Sharia law was dismissed as inaccurate. Mayor Sadiq Khan has never indicated any intent to enforce such laws, highlighting the distorted narrative often prevalent in political rhetoric.
As Europe continues to refine its immigration policies amidst changing dynamics, the data supports a trend of decreasing irregular migration, counter to Trump’s statements during his address. The complexities surrounding migration remain a hotly debated topic in Europe's political landscape.
