US urges Europe, other allies to curb migration, track crimes by immigrants

A leaked cable shows Secretary of State Marco Rubio telling US embassies to push allies to curb migration over crime and public safety concerns

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has directed American embassies across Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to urge their host governments to curb migration, according to a diplomatic cable obtained by The New York Times. The cable describes mass movement across borders as a growing threat to public safety and social cohesion.

 

What does the cable ask diplomats to do?

 

The document, dated November 21, instructs diplomats to raise the issue directly with foreign officials and to set out what Rubio sees as a link between violent crimes connected to people with a migration background and the case for stricter entry rules. Embassies have also been asked to flag any government that appears overly supportive of immigrants.

 

According to the report, the directive asks embassies to keep host governments regularly informed about crimes attributed to migrants and any related human rights abuses. Rubio’s message argues that these incidents have become disruptors of public order that traditional diplomacy has not addressed adequately.

 

How does the directive fit into the administration’s broader strategy?

 

The New York Times said the instruction is one of the clearest signals yet of the Trump administration’s intention to steer allied countries towards tougher border controls. The cable says diplomats should draw attention to criminal acts involving migrants to reinforce Washington’s position.

 

A senior State Department official has described mass migration as an existential threat to Western civilisation. The directive, the official said, is part of the administration’s new approach to human rights under Rubio.

 

What changes to the human rights portfolio are being made?

 

“This is part of a broader refocusing of the human rights portfolio,” the official said during a briefing on November 24. The cable urges embassies to document sexual assaults, trafficking and violent attacks that officials believe have been “facilitated by people of a migration background,” arguing that such cases were previously overlooked because they were “politically incorrect or inconvenient to prevailing narratives.”

 

Embassies have been asked to approach their host governments directly and set out US concerns about the consequences of large-scale migration. The official said the United States stands “ready, willing and able” to help countries address what the administration sees as a growing crisis.

 

He added that a tweet thread by the State Department the same evening carried the same message: “Mass migration is an existential threat to Western civilisation and the safety of both the West and the world.”

 

What concerns has the administration linked to migration?

 

The official listed a range of problems the administration associates with migration, including organised sexual assaults in parts of the UK and antisemitic or anti-Christian attacks in Europe. He also pointed to economic pressure such as housing shortages and claims of “two-tiered justice systems,” where migrants are believed to receive more lenient treatment than citizens.

 

“This is a real problem. There are security implications, cultural implications, economic implications,” he said, adding that ignoring the issue amounts to “glaring negligence” by the international human rights community.