Calls by European extremists for mass deportations of immigrants are finding support in the U.S.
Over the past few days, several U.S. far-right influencers have been advocating for the mass deportation of immigrants, using the term “remigration.” This recent trend in the U.S. was kickstarted when Donald Trump tweeted that he “will immediately end the migrant invasion of America” by “return[ing] Kamala’s illegal migrants to their home countries (also known as remigration).”
Remigration is a term that has until now primarily been used in European extremist circles as a “solution” to “Le Grand Remplacement,” (“The Great Replacement”) which argues there is an organized effort, often led by Jews, to “replace” white populations in Western countries with refugees, immigrants, and generally people of color, ruining “European culture” and impacting elections. The rapid spread of the white supremacist “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory in extremist circles has inspired the perpetrators of several mass casualty terrorist attacks across the globe.
“Remigration” isn’t only about returning recent refugees and immigrants to their home countries. It’s about calling for state policy to deport all people of non-European or non-Christian descent “back” to their “home countries,” in essence, a call for ethnic cleansing. The racist proposal has transcended fringe neo-Nazi and other extremist groups, with far-right political parties picking it up such as Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany, AfD), whose members were present at a November 2023 lecture on remigration delivered by de-facto Identitarian leader and once avowed neo-Nazi Martin Sellner. Although denying that his “masterplan” would affect citizens, Sellner dubbed the plan “unstoppable,” and believed it “will prevail in the 21st century.” AfD denied official participation in the meeting, but was widely condemned for some of its members engaging in such a discussion, particularly given Germany’s WWII history.
Anti-immigrant propaganda advocating for remigration has spread across the globe, from fringe online platforms to mainstream political discourse, thanks in part to the poor content moderation practices of major social media platforms like Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. Remigration has infiltrated pop culture discussions in America, such as in the gaming industry, manifesting in video game modifications like one in Bethesda’s Fallout 4 which removes all people of color in Boston, Massachusetts, national sports, and even the “White Boy Summer” trend, which was co-opted by white supremacists after Tom Hanks’ son, Chet Hanks, made it go viral.
Now that Trump’s tweet of September 15 mentioning remigration has amassed over 55 million views, far-right influencers are trying to make remigration mainstream across the United States. Popularity of the term on fringe platforms had a significant surge. Gab, a platform similar to Twitter, saw a 850 percent increase in use of the term from September 14 to 15. On September 21, instances reflected a 2,275 percent increase from September 15.
MAGA influencer Jack Posobiec reacted on Telegram by saying “MAGA 2024 will provide remigration assistance that is proven safe and effective,” followed-up by a post repeating the phrase “SAFE AND EFFECITVE (sic) REMIGRATION.” The South Texas Proud Boys shared a post with a video originally tweeted by Canadian Holocaust denier Alex Vriend of the white supremacist movement Diagolon. The video features an image, in 1950s pin-up style art, of a woman pointing a group of men to an airplane, with the American flag and “Remigration” written above. Based on the text on the airplane, and the airplane’s nose sticking through the American flag, it’s likely the image was AI-generated. Vriend has made several other posts in the same vein.
The South Texas Proud Boys shares an image, likely AI-generated, calling for remigration (Source: Telegram)
American Renaissance, a white nationalist publication with strong ties to the transnational far- right, lauded remigration as a “necessary” policy “if the west is to be saved.” They celebrated the recent mainstreaming of the term, saying “the fact that it is being openly discussed in the United States is a course (sic) for profound optimism.” A Telegram channel dedicated to VDARE.com, an American white nationalist website, shared a post made on Identitarian leader Martin Sellner’s English-language Telegram channel saying remigration, which is the “dream of all european and western people worldwide,” is now “exploding internationally.” Neo-Nazi Ryan Sanchez, former member of the white supremacist movements Rise Above Movement (RAM) and Identity Evropa (formerly the American Identitarian Movement) who was kicked out of the U.S. Marine Corps for his involvement in the white nationalist scene, also celebrated the term’s mainstreaming.
A VDARE Telegram channel shares Sellner’s post claiming that remigration is the “dream of all european and western people worldwide,” and that it is “unstoppable” (Source: Telegram)
Use of the term in American politics was celebrated by far-right extremists transnationally. The National Party, an Irish white nationalist political party, and its founder, Justin Barrett, have made posts about remigration in the United States. One day after Trump’s tweet, Barrett simply posted “Remigration” on his Telegram channel. The National Party’s Telegram channel made a post on September 18 saying “pets want mass remigration.” An image attached to the post contains someone holding flyers saying “turf them out,” (meaning “get rid of them”) with a flaming pitchfork. Inclusion of a cat in the photo is no doubt an allusion to recent false and racist conspiracy theories that Haitian migrants were eating people’s pets in Springfield, Ohio. British neo-Nazi Mark Collett celebrated Trump’s mentioning of the term, sharing a post saying that remigration is “inevitable.” Marcus Follin, better known as “The Golden One,” a Swedish white supremacist influencer, shared a post on Telegram referencing Trump’s use of the term, captioned “are you tired of winning yet?”
The National Party, shortly after Trump’s tweet, posts propaganda calling for “mass remigration.” (Source: Telegram)
While the concept of remigration and the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory originated in Europe, both ideas have spread like wildfire online, including in the United States. Despite its connection to several instances of terrorism, far-right politicians in multiple countries have pushed the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory and recent escalation of anti-immigrant rhetoric has been fueled by bogus conspiracies about Haitians, labeled as “invaders,” (a term associated with the “Great Replacement”) eating cats in Ohio. The community has faced bomb threats and the subsequent closures of schools due to threats associated with the anti-Haitian propaganda.
