US directs diplomats to lobby governments against mass migration, cable says

By Humeyra Pamuk

The Trump administration last week ordered U.S. diplomats abroad to lobby against pro-migration policies and raise concerns over what it says are migrant populations committing violent crimes, according to a State Department cable seen by Reuters.

The cable, sent on Friday to dozens of U.S. embassies across Europe, Canada and Australia, argues that crime and human rights abuses linked to mass migration and "individuals of a migration background" were a significant concern in Europe and the West. It says these incidents threaten public safety and social cohesion around the world.

It instructs U.S. missions to report to Washington on such crimes and abuses and to provide analysis of how the host country reacts, while pushing the governments to reform migration policies and limit any programs that enable mass migration.

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"We encourage your government to ensure that policies protect your citizens from the negative social impacts of mass migration, including displacement, sexual assault, and the breakdown of law and order," reads one of more than a dozen talking points the State Department provided to U.S. diplomats in the cable, which was first reported by the New York Times.

Anti-immigration was a major part of Donald Trump's presidential campaign. After taking office, he launched an aggressive enforcement campaign, surging troops to the southern border and pledging to deport millions of immigrants who were in the U.S. illegally.

The Republican president has repeatedly blamed migrants in the U.S. illegally for fueling violent crime, although studies show immigrants are not more likely to commit crimes.

The administration has also worked to internationalize its restrictive approach. In September, top officials urged other nations to join a global campaign to roll back asylum protections, a major shift that would seek to reshape the post-World War Two framework around humanitarian migration.

Late last month Trump slashed the limit on refugee admissions for fiscal 2026 to a record low 7,500 from the 100,000 who entered under then-President Joe Biden in fiscal 2024. Trump said his administration would focus on bringing in white South Africans of Afrikaner ethnicity.

A State Department spokesperson, asked for comment on the cable, said mass migration was a human rights issue and that it regularly led to a rise in violent crimes. The spokesperson did not provide any data to support the assertion.

The cable, which quotes Trump as saying that "a nation without borders is not a nation," also asks governments to resist practices that "disproportionately favor migrant populations at the expense of local communities, including displacement, legal consequences for criticizing mass migration."