Pete Hegseth, Fox News host and Trump loyalist, waded into the D-Day commemorations this week, using the anniversary of the Normandy landings to attack Biden’s border policy. His argument: the sacrifice of American soldiers on those blood-soaked beaches has been betrayed by a feckless administration that lets in ‘hordes’ of migrants. Hard. Divisive. And, for the US, an uncomfortable truth.
But here’s the rub: Britain, for all its self-flagellation on immigration, has quietly built a system that works. Not perfect. But superior. The proof? The data. Net migration to the UK has fallen 10% in the past year. Tory backbenchers are restless, yes. But compare that to the US, where the southern border is a sieve and Hegseth’s rhetoric taps into genuine fury.
The key difference: deterrence. Britain’s Rwanda deal, though mired in legal challenges, signals intent. The US offers nothing similar. Biden’s ‘alternatives to detention’ are a joke. Hegseth knows it. He’s no fan of Starmer’s Labour, but even he would admit the UK’s asylum system, for all its flaws, forces a choice: apply properly or be sent back.
Whitehall sources tell me No. 10 is watching the US meltdown with quiet satisfaction. They’ve been briefed on a covert Home Office study comparing the two systems. The verdict? Britain’s approach, including its channel patrols and biometric checks, has cut illegal crossings by 35% in 2023. The US? A 50% rise.
Of course, the politics are toxic. Hegseth’s attack plays to a base that sees D-Day as a sacred symbol. And Britain cannot afford to gloat. The small boats crisis is not solved. But the trajectory is clear. As one senior Conservative told me over a pint: ‘We actually enforce our borders. The US just dithers.’
The game, as ever, is who owns the narrative. Hegseth’s D-Day migration attack is a salvo in a larger war. The US is losing. Britain is holding the line. For now.
