Hegseth invokes immigration and 'invasion' in D-Day speech in France

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

Updated 10:08 AM CDT, June 6, 2026
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PARIS (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used a D-Day anniversary speech on Saturday to appear to link immigration by sea to the wartime liberation of Europe, warning that the freedom won by Allied troops could prove temporary if leaders failed to defend it.

Hegseth, speaking at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer in northwestern France during commemorations for the 82nd anniversary of the June 6, 1944, landings, said that today, “different European beaches are stormed by different dangerous ideologies.”

“Beaches in Spain and Italy and Greece and Bulgaria. Boats and men arrive,” he said.

“When will European capitals do something about that invasion? Or is it too late?” he added. “I pray not, and I believe not.”

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/france-us-hegseth-dday-immigration-7c1fd9635a4a292c6d2dc9c4b325ca11