The interview given by Greece’s Minister of Migration and Asylum, Thanos Plevris, to the American news outlet Breitbart News — known for its strong Republican leanings — appears to have made a significant impression on Donald Trump, who reshared it on his personal Truth Social account. The move is widely interpreted as a strong endorsement of the tough immigration policy being implemented by Athens — one that the American president appears eager to hold up as a model for managing migration flows more broadly.
Read also: Plevris on Breitbart: Trump’s re-election changed immigration policy in the US and Europe — The American president’s post sharing the Greek minister’s interview
In his interview, Minister Plevris expressed open support for Donald Trump, stating plainly that Trump’s return to the White House served as the catalyst for Europe’s shift toward far stricter border enforcement policies. The Greek minister argued that the change of guard in Washington directly influenced European governments to pursue bold legislative initiatives. He also outlined Greece’s new hard-line immigration framework, which includes mandatory detention and even prison sentences for those who refuse to voluntarily return to their countries of origin.
“The best thing” Donald Trump has done
“For me, the best thing President Trump has done is change immigration policy in the United States,” Plevris told Breitbart News. “We could talk about President Trump for one or two hours. As you know, I am a supporter of the president. But if you ask me what was the best thing he did, it was changing American immigration policy — because that change influenced immigration policy in Europe too. Germany, France, the Netherlands, Denmark — they all changed their policies.”
Thanos Plevris noted that when Joe Biden was in power, “open borders” policies encouraged European countries to follow the same path. But when Trump returned, that approach shifted dramatically — driven both by the new administration’s stance and by growing public pressure for stricter frameworks. “That means the message from our citizens is clear: enough is enough,” he said. The minister also referenced Vice President JD Vance’s remarks to European leaders last year, noting that while they were widely criticized at the time, they were quietly adopted by many Europeans — at least when it came to migration issues. “I am sure that if the Vice President comes here — not only to Greece but to Europe — he will see that Europe has changed its immigration policy.”
The minister walked Breitbart News journalists through the country’s migrant monitoring operations center, a room filled with live surveillance screens covering migrant facilities across Greece. “This is our war room,” he said, adding: “We have 33 facilities. That means 24/7 we see exactly what is happening. In Greece, we have new legislation since September 2025. If a migrant comes here and has a refugee profile, that means they will receive asylum and we transfer them to an open facility. There are no cash benefits, but we give them the opportunity to apply for asylum — and if they receive it, they can work here in Greece. This applies to 30% of cases. The other 70% are migrants who do not have a refugee profile. They come from safe countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, or Egypt. So, under the new law, we place them in detention. They submit an asylum application, we review it, but they remain in custody. They are not free because they do not have a refugee profile. If the asylum application is rejected, new legislation means we imprison them for two to five years. After that, we send them back. But we also give them the option — if they want to avoid the two to five years of imprisonment — to voluntarily return to their country of origin.”
Greece’s support for the United States
The article closes with an extensive reference to Greece’s support for the United States during its confrontation with Iran, as well as the cultural ties between the two countries — including references to the Christian tradition that also underpins Trump’s political rhetoric. “During the second term, there may not have been a more closely aligned key ally of the United States with what the president is trying to do than Greece,” the piece states, also highlighting the exceptional state of bilateral relations.
“On every issue — from trade and national security to geopolitics, energy, and immigration — Greek officials, from Prime Minister Mitsotakis down to junior ministers, have expressed not only receptiveness toward Trump but a degree of alignment that is usually only seen from historically close American allies like the French or the British. When those other allies — including those two, as well as others such as the Italians — diverged from Trump during the confrontation with Iran, Greece stood firm, providing support to the United States and access to military bases.”
Originally published in the newspaper “Apogevmatini.”
