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U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday encouraged Britain to deploy military forces if necessary to address the ongoing crisis of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, drawing parallels between the situation and immigration challenges the United States faced before his return to office.
Speaking at a joint news conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer following his state visit to Britain, Trump described witnessing "millions of people pouring into our country" during the previous administration.
"I couldn't stand to watch it. I think your situation is very similar. You have people coming in and I told the prime minister I would stop it, and it doesn't matter if you call out the military, it doesn't matter what means you use," Trump said.
The president warned that irregular migration "destroys countries from within," adding that the United States is "actually now removing a lot of the people that came into our country."
Trump's remarks came as Starmer announced plans to accelerate deportations of irregular migrants from Britain back to France, citing the first removal under a new bilateral agreement that took place earlier Thursday.
"We need to ramp that up at scale, which was always envisaged under the scheme but it's very important that we have been able to prove the proof of concept," Starmer told reporters.
The Channel crossing crisis has become one of Britain's most persistent immigration challenges, with tens of thousands of migrants arriving annually on the shores of southeast England after making the dangerous journey from northern France in small boats.
The crossings have strained resources and sparked political debate about border security and humanitarian obligations..
3 min read
