Trump blames refugees in Europe for 'violent' culture change

In a bid to defend American immigration policy, the US president blamed refugees in Germany for 'strongly and violently' changing their culture.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab & agencies

18 June, 2018

Trump waded into the political crisis facing German Chancellor Angela Merkel [Getty]

US President Donald Trump said immigration into Europe is a "big mistake" which has caused a culture change.

In two tweets on Monday, the American leader waded into the political crisis facing German Chancellor Angela Merkel, declaring the German people were "turning against their leadership" over immigration.

"The people of Germany are turning against their leadership as migration is rocking the already tenuous Berlin coalition," Trump tweeted.

"Crime in Germany is way up. Big mistake made all over Europe in allowing millions of people in who have so strongly and violently changed their culture!"

"We don't want what is happening with immigration in Europe to happen with us!"

Trump's highly intrusive comments, which inaccurately described rising crime rates, came as Merkel was fighting to save her coalition government amid demands by her interior minister to turn back immigrants at the border.

Twitter Post

They also came as Trump faces mounting pressure of his own to halt a widely condemned US policy of separating children from immigrant parents attempting to cross the US border.

Activists, medical professionals, religious leaders, Democrats and some in Trump's own Republican Party have condemned his administration for separating nearly 2,000 children from their parents at the US-Mexican border between mid-April and the end of May.

In May, Trump described some migrants as "animals", in a charged discussion about the border wall and law enforcement.

Reacting to Trump's outburst, Secretary of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland tweeted: "A US President ripping children from refugee parents lies about Germany which is only power respecting refugee law."

More than 1.6 million migrants, mostly Muslims fleeing wars in the Middle East, have arrived in Germany since 2014.

Contrary to Trump's assertion, crime has fallen dramatically in Germany, reporting last month that criminal offences totaled 5.76 million in 2017, the lowest number in 30 years.