Vice President JD Vance blamed lax immigration policies Friday for the death of an 18-year-old university student in England, using the killing to criticize what he called "European elites" and the "mass invasion of migrants."

Vance's comments Friday on X followed renewed attention to the death of Henry Nowak, who was stabbed five times last December after an argument in Southampton.

Vickrum Digwa, 23, was later convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

"Henry Nowak died the same way a civilization dies: abandoned, handcuffed by authorities who neither trusted nor cared for him, and accused of hate crimes he did not commit," Vance wrote.

The case has drawn outrage in Britain after reports that Nowak was handcuffed by police as he lay fatally wounded.

Authorities have said Digwa falsely alleged that Nowak racially abused him before the stabbing.

Vance said Nowak should still be alive.

The remarks marked an unusually direct intervention by a sitting U.S. vice president into a British criminal case.

They also echoed arguments made by right-wing figures in Britain and the U.S. who have cited Nowak's death as evidence of what they describe as unequal policing and failures tied to immigration and multiculturalism.

"Henry was far from the first to so needlessly lose his life, and I fear he won't be the last," said Vance.

"Each time a life like his is lost, the proper response — the only response — is righteous anger. One of the most important things the Trump administration has proven to the world is that stopping the flow of mass migration and defending national sovereignty is a matter of political will and leadership. Anything else is an excuse.

"It is because we love the West that we want to preserve it. We love our civilization. We love our country. We love our children. And nobody — nobody — should ever die the way that Henry Nowak died. May God comfort those who loved him, and may God rest his soul," he added.

British officials have urged the public not to inflame tensions surrounding the case. Nowak's family has also called for a focus on justice and knife crime rather than political division.

The killing has prompted scrutiny of the police response, including an independent investigation.

The case has also fueled protests and broader debate in Britain over race, policing, immigration, and public safety.

Digwa was convicted after prosecutors rejected his claim that he acted in self-defense.