Despite protesting ICE at Olympics, EU shifts toward Trump | Opinion - USA Today

Despite protesting ICE at Olympics, EU shifts toward Trump | Opinion

The European Union is easing deportations and immigration data sharing with America. The shift is unfolding alongside a surge of far-right parties across our continent.

Momodou Malcolm Jallow

Opinion contributor

Updated Feb. 22, 2026, 10:40 a.m. ET

The booing of Vice President JD Vance at the Winter Olympics in Italy might look like pushback against President Donald Trump’s border politics. But, despite the anger on camera, Europe is aligning itself with U.S. migration policies behind closed doors.

To many Americans, the reaction to Immigration and Customs Enforcement may seem confusing. A small ICE delegation sparked protests and clashes normally reserved for a domestic scandal. But that reaction reflects something deeper: Trump’s immigration politics no longer feels like an American debate. It feels like a European one.

The anxiety is not misplaced. Europe’s migration posture is already shifting.

EU easing deportations and immigration data sharing with US

The European Parliament recently voted to allow deportations of migrants to designated “safe" third countries, a policy long championed by hardline governments. The move pushes the bloc further toward externalizing asylum responsibilities ‒ an enforcement-first approach that echoes policies increasingly dominant in Washington, DC.

The shift is unfolding alongside a surge of far-right parties across Europe, many of which openly admire Trump’s immigration agenda. His rhetoric about expulsions and border crackdowns is regularly cited by nationalist leaders as proof that their approach has powerful backing. And Trump – who thinks Europe’s migration model is an “unmitigated immigration disaster” ‒ isn’t afraid to wield this leverage.

Privacy watchdogs warn the shared data could sweep up people the Trump administration views as threats, placing migrants, asylum seekers and even political activists before U.S. border authorities who can deny entry or detain travelers.

The National Security Agency’s past surveillance of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel also shows how far U.S. surveillance has reached. Today, that kind of scrutiny risks becoming institutionalized.

Washington has warned that without an agreement by Dec. 31, Europeans could lose visa-free travel to the United States, forcing us into a bleak trade-off: migrant security for privileged mobility.

The deal likely won’t stop at biometric data. Washington is already moving to review up to five years of travelers’ social media history. That signals a wider view of security than many European countries can accept. But if large-scale data transfers become routine, future demands could follow.

Was Trump testing EU by sending ICE to Winter Olympics in Italy?

I think this is why ICE was sent to Milan, even when the the Department of Homeland Security or the Diplomatic Security Service would have drawn far less controversy. ICE is the sharpest symbol of Trump’s immigration agenda, and its presence tested how strongly European leaders would respond.

This matters because the United States and Europe have historically approached migration differently. Both have faced large migration waves. But under Trump, America treats migration mainly as a security issue, focused on detention and mass deportations. Europe, despite deep divisions, has traditionally balanced border control with integration and partnerships with civil society.

During Europe’s refugee crisis a decade ago, leaders did not solely rely on enforcement. Governments understood their limits and combined border controls with integration efforts and partnerships that worked both at European borders and in countries of origin.

Now, however, many of the very organizations that helped stabilize migration flows are increasingly portrayed as obstacles. Trump has branded nongovernmental organizations and aid groups as threats to “national interest,” and similar rhetoric is gaining traction in parts of Europe.

As a Swedish parliamentarian, I have watched migration politics in my own country rapidly harden. Language once confined to the margins shapes national debate, and Trump’s agenda is cited as proof that a harsher model is viable.

To preserve its standard, Europe needs a collective response that sets limits Washington cannot ignore. Privacy and fundamental rights should not be bargained away through broad data-sharing pacts.

And Europeans remain the largest group of overseas visitors to the United States, helping to sustain the roughly $180 billion annually for the U.S. economy. That gives Europe weight in these negotiations, if we choose to use it.

Ultimately, Europe’s negotiators should hold their ground. Visa-free travel is important, but it can be renegotiated. Sovereignty is different. And once Europe gives away control over privacy and migration standards, it will be far harder to get it back.