The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has strongly criticized Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for comparing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to the Gestapo, the secret police of Nazi Germany.
The condemnation follows Walz’s commencement address at the University of Minnesota law school, where he likened ICE’s enforcement of the Trump administration’s immigration policies to the actions of the Nazi regime.
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In his speech, Governor Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, asserted that ICE agents were “scooping folks up off the streets” in “unmarked vans, wearing masks,” and “shipping [them] off to foreign torture dungeons.” He further stated, “Donald Trump’s modern-day Gestapo is scooping folks up off the streets.” Walz also claimed that those detained were denied due process, stating, “To be clear, there’s no way for us to know whether they were actually criminals or not, because they refused to give them a trial.”
These remarks came amidst ongoing debates over the Trump administration’s immigration policies, which include designating Mexican drug cartels and certain gangs as foreign terrorist organizations and invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to expedite deportations.
The administration had also released a dossier regarding Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an MS-13 gang member who was deported in March, after Democratic lawmakers visited him in El Salvador.
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DHS responded to Walz’s comments via X, stating, “It is absolutely sickening to compare ICE law enforcement agents to the Gestapo. Attacks and demonization of ICE and our partners is wrong. ICE officers are now facing a 413% increase in assaults. Our message is clear: DO NOT come to this country illegally. If you do, we will arrest you, deport you and you will never return.”
Governor Walz, considered a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, has not yet issued a formal response to the DHS statement.
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