Last weekend, former President Donald Trump posted a striking anti-immigrant message on Truth Social. It would have been unremarkable ― at least, graded on the Trumpian curve of extreme xenophobia ― except for a term likely overlooked by many: “remigration.”
He wrote, “[We will] return Kamala’s illegal migrants to their home countries (also known as remigration),” framing it as part of his plan to address immigration issues across several states. “I will save our cities and towns in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and all across America.”
While many may have glossed over the term, it caught the attention of white nationalists. Martin Sellner, leader of the Austrian chapter of Generation Identity, noted on Twitter, “#Remigration has had a massive conceptual career,” tracing its origins from France to its recent use in the U.S. by Trump.
Sellner’s enthusiasm for the term is telling; it has become a euphemism for the removal of non-white individuals from Western countries. He has been influential in pushing this language into the mainstream political discourse in Europe.
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Trump’s invocation of “remigration” highlights a worrying trend in the GOP’s escalating anti-immigrant rhetoric as the November elections approach, revealing connections between mainstream political language and extremist ideologies.
Jakob Guhl of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue explained that the term is deeply rooted in far-right movements, especially those tied to the “great replacement” theory, which claims that native populations are being replaced by non-European migrants.
The term has a controversial history, having been previously employed by figures like Pat Buchanan, who used it to advocate for harsh immigration policies in his 2006 book. It gained further traction in 2014 during a far-right gathering in Paris, where Renaud Camus, the originator of the “great replacement” theory, promoted it as a solution to what he viewed as a crisis in European identity.
The concept of “remigration” has been utilized by various far-right groups in both Europe and North America. In recent years, political parties like Alternative for Deutschland in Germany have incorporated it into their platforms, reflecting its normalization within far-right rhetoric.
In the U.S., the group Identity Evropa, which aligns with European identitarianism, has adopted “remigration” in its policy proposals, famously chanting “You will not replace us” during the Charlottesville rally.
Historians have noted that Trump’s inflammatory language echoes historical fascist rhetoric, raising concerns about the implications of his statements.
The former president recently faced backlash for promoting a false claim that Haitian immigrants were eating pets in Ohio, a narrative critics have labeled as alarmingly reminiscent of fascist rhetoric that dehumanizes entire groups.
Earlier this year, he further inflamed tensions by asserting that immigrants were “poisoning the blood” of the nation. Historians have pointed out that such language closely mirrors the rhetoric used by Adolf Hitler, who infamously wrote in Mein Kampf about the supposed dangers of a “creative race” being “poisoned” by others.
Despite its troubling connotations, “remigration” has made its way into the rhetoric of political parties in Europe, such as Alternative for Deutschland in Germany. Recent investigations have revealed secret discussions among AfD members about implementing remigration policies that resemble historical attempts at ethnic cleansing.
While few U.S. politicians have used the term in recent years, Trump’s embrace of “remigration” coincides with a broader pattern of dehumanizing language regarding immigrants. His controversial remarks about Haitian immigrants and claims that immigrants “poison” the nation’s blood echo historical fascist rhetoric.
While it remains unclear how Trump came across the term “remigration,” speculation points to figures like Stephen Miller, a former White House adviser known for his ties to extremist ideologies.
As Trump continues to make headlines with his divisive rhetoric, the usage of terms like “remigration” underscores the influence of far-right narratives on mainstream American politics and the normalization of extremist language in mainstream discourse.
