Greece’s Migration Minister Thanos Plevris has credited President Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory with sparking a fundamental shift in migration policy across Europe and beyond, according to an exclusive interview conducted in Athens last week.
Speaking with Breitbart News, Plevris argued that Trump’s return to office and subsequent implementation of stricter border controls created a ripple effect that led European nations to abandon what he characterized as previously lenient migration policies.
“For me, the best thing that President Trump did is the change of the migration policy in the USA and also of Europe,” Plevris said. “We had a bad policy in Europe, and that was because of the USA—not because of Europe—this is the truth.”
European Polling Shifts
The minister cited polling data showing that major European nations including Germany, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden have all moved toward stricter migration enforcement in recent years. He attributed this continental shift directly to changing public sentiment following Trump’s political success.
According to Plevris, current polling in Greece shows 35 percent of citizens support the government’s strict migration policy, another 35 percent want even stricter measures, and only 30 percent oppose the policy on human rights grounds.
“That means that the message from our citizens is clear: Enough is enough,” Plevris said, adding that Trump’s return to office “set off a firestorm across Europe and worldwide leading to stricter immigration enforcement in every corner of the planet.”
Inside the Centaur Operations Center
Plevris provided Breitbart News with access to the Centaur migrant control operations center at his ministry’s headquarters, a facility he described as a “war room” monitoring 33 migrant facilities across Greece around the clock.
The building, which was transformed from a tobacco warehouse during Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s administration, houses multiple television screens providing real-time surveillance of migrant camps throughout the country.
Under new legislation implemented in September 2025, Greece now operates a two-track system for migrants. Those deemed to have a “refugee profile”—approximately 30 percent of arrivals—are transferred to open camps where they can pursue asylum without benefits but with work authorization if approved.
The remaining 70 percent, who come from countries Greece considers safe such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Egypt, are placed in detention facilities while their asylum applications are processed. If applications are rejected, migrants face two to five years in prison unless they agree to voluntary return to their countries of origin.
Dramatic Reduction in Arrivals
The numbers Plevris provided show a stark shift in migration patterns. Greece has seen a 70 percent reduction in overall migration flows over the past year, which the minister attributes to the stricter enforcement regime.
More specifically, migration from Egypt through Libya dropped from 3,200 illegal arrivals in the first half of 2025 to just 802 in the first half of 2026. During the same period, voluntary returns increased from 69 to 330.
“It’s something very simple,” Plevris explained. “When you come illegally into a country, if I put you on detention, that means you give a signal to your relatives in your country that ‘I’m on detention’ and ‘They want to send me back.'”
No Easy Path to Legal Status
A key component of Greece’s policy, according to Plevris, is that migrants cannot easily obtain legal documentation. He contrasted this with Spain’s approach, which he characterized as a “pull factor” attracting more migrants.
According to the minister, Spain passed legislation allowing illegal migrants who find employment and remain in the country for three months to obtain documentation. This policy has resulted in 1.2 million applications from illegal migrants seeking documents, which Plevris described as problematic for Greece’s enforcement efforts.
“That, for us, is a pull factor because you can understand if you can choose a country to go to, it’s a magnet,” he said.
Border Wall and Turkish Cooperation
Greece has constructed a wall along its land border with Turkey, which Plevris compared to Trump’s wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The minister said the barrier is essential to controlling migrant flows.
“Without the wall we will have thousands of migrants,” Plevris said. “If you see the wall, when you have land borders—with a wall and the soldiers and the police officers, you can have zero flows.”
The minister also noted what he described as “good cooperation with the Turkish Coast Guard” in managing maritime migration routes.
Vice President Vance’s Message
Plevris referenced Vice President JD Vance’s message to Europeans from last year, which he said was “widely criticized in Europe at the time” but has since been “quietly taken to heart by many Europeans at least when it comes to migration matters.”
“I believe that now, and I’m sure that if the Vice President comes here, not only in Greece, but Europe—he will see that Europe changed the migration policy,” Plevris said.
The minister characterized the policy shift as part of maintaining the “Western world” relationship between the European Union and the United States.
Describing the Mitsotakis government’s approach, Plevris said Greece maintains a “strict but fair migration policy,” with the goal of eventually matching the number of returns to the number of arrivals.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2026/08/09/exclusive-inside-greeces-migrant-control-operation-center-migration-minister-reveals-how-trump-win-sparked-worldwide-border-crackdown/