Migration took center stage at Europa Viva 2025, held this weekend at Madrid’s Palacio de Vistalegre and hosted by Patriots for Europe and VOX. From the same stage, European and American leaders delivered a unified message: mass immigration, they warned, is a direct threat to national sovereignty, security, and cultural identity.
Kristen Ziccarelli, Director of Global Coalitions at the America First Policy Institute, opened the debate by stressing that the great mistake of the West has been to believe in “the automatic magic of integration.” Progressive narratives have sold the idea that every immigrant becomes an integrated citizen simply by crossing the border, when in reality, she said, the result is an increase in crime, lack of public safety, and social fragmentation. “The left blames patriotism for the evils of the 20th century, but true peace will only come from recovering our identity and love for our nation,” she declared, to applause.
Frenchman Fabrice Leggeri, former director of Frontex and now a Member of the European Parliament for the Rassemblement National, spoke critically of the European Commission. He denounced Brussels’ “naivety and negligence” over the past decade, recalling the 2015 immigration wave as a symbol of its inability to control borders. For Leggeri, there is a “toxic alliance” between NGOs, economic interests seeking cheap labor, and the “woke” ideology that aims to replace Europe’s population: “The battle cannot be technical; it is political. And the only possible response is political firmness to defend our civilization.”
Udo Landbauer, deputy governor of Lower Austria and deputy chair of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), argued for the need to break with the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, which he described as “weak and useless.” Instead, Landbauer proposed a front of like-minded countries to promote remigration and establish reception centers outside the continent to prevent mass arrivals for economic reasons. “Every illegal border crossing must be stopped. Responsibility for refugees lies with the continents of origin, not with Europe,” he insisted.
Ignacio Garriga, Secretary General of VOX, denounced the “extremely high cost” that illegal immigration represents for Spaniards, accusing the bipartisan system (the Popular Party and the Socialist Party) of allocating resources to immigrants while denying investment in healthcare, education, or support for the self-employed. “We are going to demand a political offensive to know how much illegal immigration is really costing us. What is being spent today to maintain illegals is money denied to ordinary Spaniards,” he proclaimed, presenting VOX as the alternative that will put an end to this “massive and uncontrolled invasion.”
