President Donald Trump’s most consistent platform issue of immigration has frequently been labeled far-right or xenophobic due to his hardline positions on reducing illegal border entry and deporting undocumented residents in the United States. But now, several Western countries are following suit. The United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Poland, and Portugal are rejecting mass immigration to secure national sovereignty and avoid what some view as fractious diversification.
“What you’re seeing is a populist movement against bureaucratic governments that have failed the will of the people and failed even to enforce their laws as it relates to migration,” said Andrew Arthur, a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, in an interview with The American Spectator.
Arthur said that citizens in Western European countries are “fed up” with the mass immigration their countries have experienced because they “see the impacts.”
Arthur views Trump as having inspired much of this populist change. “Trump showed,” he said, “that countries can have a welcoming immigration policy, but one that has restrictions, and you can win on that policy.” In this way, he explained, Trump created a permission structure for rejecting liberal immigration policy.
The United Kingdom
Left-wing U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has begun to steer away from mass immigration in the U.K. following significant upheaval due to the influx of migrants from India, Pakistan, and other nations. (RELATED: Britain’s Mass Immigration Scam)
In a May speech, Starmer stated his intent to alter the U.K.’s migrant policy significantly, and said that the country’s current immigration system is “designed for abuse.”
Starmer has expressed his intent to source labor from within the U.K., a position that mirrors the political goals of Trump. The prime minister discussed the importance of investment in British workers and the fact that constant importation of cheap labor contributes to “the forces that are slowly pulling our country apart.”
Starmer attracted significant backlash when he explained the dangers of immigration not only to the country’s economy, but its cultural identity as well. “We risk becoming an island of strangers,” he said, “not a nation that walks forward together.” While leftists derided this comment as racially hostile, likening it to Enoch Powell’s 1968 “Rivers of Blood” speech, Starmer has resolved to restructure the immigration system.
This will be accomplished through the Labour government’s plans to increase the residency requirement for immigrants to apply for British citizenship from five years to 10 years. Additionally, migrants residing in the U.K. on graduate visas will only be allowed to remain in the country for 18 months. Actions will also incentivize U.K. employers to hire British citizens for critical skills occupations.
The U.K. government has, since July 2024, conducted 5,000 raids on businesses employing undocumented workers and has deported over 16,000 individuals. These actions are part of a broader strategy to deter illegal immigration and address public concerns over border control, again mirroring the positions of Trump.
The Netherlands
The fight for immigration control in the Netherlands faces a more fraught path, as on June 3, the country’s coalition government essentially collapsed over the issue. This was prompted by Geert Wilders, the head of the Party for Freedom, who withdrew his party from the coalition due to disputes over the party’s position on immigration.
Wilders, sometimes referred to as the “Dutch Donald Trump,” had proposed a 10-point immigration plan, which included measures such as closing borders to asylum seekers, deploying the military for border control, shutting down asylum centers, and deporting Syrians with temporary protection.
Wilders issued an ultimatum to coalition members, calling on them to adopt this plan or face the coalition’s dissolution. His calls for this restructuring were rejected, and Wilders announced the exit of the Party for Freedom from the coalition.
Wilders stated that without approval of his asylum plans, “the [Party for Freedom] leaves the coalition.” The reason for this, according to Wilders, is that “I signed up for the toughest asylum policy and not the downfall of the Netherlands.” These actions again demonstrate Trump’s mark on a foreign nation’s asylum and border control policies.
Since the collapse of the Netherlands’ coalition government will trigger a new election, Wilders’s gamble is that the country will vote to adopt his immigration policies along the lines of restructuring asylum, increasing deportations, and deploying the military to secure the border.
Poland
Karol Nawrocki, the candidate for the conservative Law and Justice party, won nearly 51 percent of the vote in the second round of the presidential election on Sunday in Poland. The election of Nawrocki signals yet another international shift toward populism on immigration. (RELATED: Is Poland the Next Victim of Mass Migration?)
With the campaign slogan “Poland first, Poles first,” Nawrocki has drawn a direct connection to Trump’s standard phrase, “America first,” and his immigration objectives follow suit.
Nawrocki is critical of Poland’s earlier acceptance of a million Ukrainian refugees, although he maintains Poland’s support for Ukraine. The Polish president has also criticized his country’s involvement in NATO and the European Union, and he believes that Ukraine ought not be admitted into either organization. He emphasized that social benefits are “primarily intended for Poles,” rather than for refugees or migrants.
He has declared his intent to withdraw Poland from the EU’s migration pact and sees it as an infringement on national sovereignty. He argues that such agreements compromise Poland’s ability to control its borders and immigration policies.
As with Trump, Nawrocki expresses strong advocacy for stricter border control and enforcement measures to prevent unauthorized entry into Poland.
Portugal
The Chega party, led by André Ventura, has recently become Portugal’s primary opposition force, as it secured 60 seats in the 2025 parliamentary elections. Central to Chega’s platform is a stringent stance on immigration and the advancement of policies that prioritize national sovereignty and cultural cohesion.
Chega proposes that immigrants with criminal records should be denied entry into Portugal, and that those who commit crimes while in the country should be repatriated. The party also suggests that immigrants who commit crimes should not be allowed to renew their visas or residence permits.
The party opposes multiculturalism, advocating instead for the assimilation of immigrants into Portuguese culture. Chega supports integration measures but insists that immigrants and foreign residents should be obliged to respect Portuguese rules, customs, and traditions.
The Chega party has criticized current immigration policies as being too lenient, particularly the “manifestation of interest” mechanism that allows non-EU migrants to apply for residency after working for a year. The party views such policies as ineffective and contributing to uncontrolled immigration.
The Chega party has also called for parliamentary debates on the impact of immigration on public services, such as healthcare, arguing that increased immigration places additional pressure on these systems.
Rethinking Immigration Orthodoxy
The liberal argument for decades has been that the influx of illegal immigrants has led to positive diversity and economic growth. However, as Keir Starmer pointed out in an answer to the press, though Britain has quadrupled in migrant influx, economic growth remained negligible.
Even in countries where economic growth has increased due to an influx of migrants, Trump’s immigration rhetoric and policies are giving voice to a populism that rejects the idea that all immigration is beneficial.
Beyond economic issues, voices on the international stage increasingly recognize that not every nation must become a melting pot. Many nations, in part due to the successes of populism, are beginning to embrace the idea that pride in one’s national culture and identity does not need the dilution of diversity.
Andrew Arthur asserted, “What Trump showed was that you can have a welcoming immigration policy, but one that has restrictions, and you can win on that policy.” Arthur believes that European leaders are “very much following Trump’s lead. They are learning from his example.”
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