The U.S. State Department has instructed American embassies in allied countries to report on the “human rights implications and public safety impacts of mass migration,” specifically flagging high-profile sexual assault cases involving migrants in the U.K., Sweden and Germany.
Diplomats have also been told to identify “policies that punish citizens who object to continued mass migration” and to document crimes and human rights abuses committed by individuals with a migration background.
In a thread on X, the department described mass migration as an existential threat to Western civilization, language that mirrors rhetoric often used by right-leaning politicians and commentators.
Why It Matters
This move is the latest example of President Donald Trump’s administration seeking to shape political debates beyond U.S. borders. Earlier this year, U.S. embassies sent letters to foreign contractors urging them to comply with a Trump executive order targeting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, prompting objections across Europe and a subsequent clarification from the State Department.
Trump’s administration has pursued a much tougher stance on immigration than President Joe Biden’s administration. Trump has recently argued that European governments have made “tremendous mistakes on immigration.”
What’s New in the Directive
Although embassies are primarily responsible for diplomacy and visa processing, they also routinely monitor developments in their host countries. Under the new guidance, U.S. officials will be expected to closely track how Western governments handle migrant-related crime and whether, in Washington’s view, local policies treat migrants more favorably than citizens.
The so-called “two-tiered system” referenced in the State Department’s thread appears linked to controversy in the U.K. over grooming gangs. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government came under fire after it emerged that a nationwide inquiry had not initially been launched; he later ordered such an inquiry in June.
England’s grooming scandal involved girls as young as 11 being sexually abused and raped by organized groups of men in towns and cities including Oldham, Rotherham, Telford, Bristol, Cornwall and Derbyshire.
In Rotherham, an investigation concluded that about 1,400 children were sexually abused over 16 years, largely by men of Pakistani heritage. In Telford, a report estimated that up to 1,000 girls were abused over four decades, and noted that some cases were not fully pursued because authorities were “nervous” about racial issues. The scandal was first brought to wider public attention in 2003 by the British newspaper The Times.
The thread also cited a case in Sweden involving the rape of a 16-year-old girl by an Eritrean migrant. According to previous reporting, a Swedish court in October declined to deport the Eritrean national—who was in the country illegally—despite his conviction for rape and a three-year prison sentence.
Broader Context on Migration and Crime
While there have been widely publicized incidents of serious crimes committed by migrants in both the U.S. and Western Europe, researchers and analysts emphasize that criminal behavior is not unique to any one group. One long-term study of U.S. Census incarceration data from 1870 to 2020, for example, found that immigrants were significantly less likely to be imprisoned than native-born Americans.
It is also routine for the State Department to monitor other countries’ immigration rules, since those policies can influence migration flows to the U.S. and affect how deportations and repatriations are managed. American officials have, at various times, provided training and assistance to other governments on border control, migration management and related security issues.
How Experts Are Reacting
Kelly Greenhill, a professor at Tufts University and MIT, told Newsweek that while sudden large migration waves can place real strain on public services and infrastructure, it is difficult to argue that they generally threaten the basic survival of states—except perhaps in very poor countries with weak institutions.
She also warned that if Western governments weaken or abandon their commitments to protecting individual human rights, they risk eroding public trust over time, which could in turn undermine the very political foundations they claim to be defending.
In its post on X, the State Department said the United States respects the sovereignty of its allies and urged governments to engage constructively with citizens who are worried about mass migration. The department added that Washington stands ready to help partners address what it described as a global migration crisis.
What Happens Next
How this new monitoring effort will be implemented—and whether it will lead to diplomatic friction or potential retaliatory steps—remains unclear. Much will depend on how embassies interpret the guidance, how host governments respond, and whether the reports are later used to justify changes in U.S. policy or public messaging on migration.
