A news interview turned into a tense debate on Friday after a guest on CNN stunned host Jake Tapper by comparing U.S. immigration facilities to concentration camps. The moment happened during a segment about protests in Minnesota, where several local shops shut their doors to speak out against recent operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Jamie Schwesnedl, the co-owner of Moon Palace Books, appeared on “The Lead with Jake Tapper” to explain why he and others closed up shop. He told Tapper that business as usual wasn’t possible because the city felt like it had been “invaded by masked gunmen.”
He said these agents were kidnapping neighbors and friends to send them away to what he called “concentration camps.”
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Tapper stopped the interview to push back on that specific choice of words. The host clarified that he wasn’t there to defend ICE, but he felt the term “concentration camp” was the wrong one to use. Tapper told his guest that the phrase carries a very specific, heavy meaning from history, referring to the horrors of the Holocaust.
Schwesnedl didn’t back down. He replied that he understood the history but pointed to local sites like Fort Snelling, arguing they were literally built as concentration camps.
He clarified his point by saying he wasn’t claiming these facilities were identical to Nazi death camps like Dachau, or that people were being put in “ovens,” at least not yet. However, he insisted on using the term and told Tapper he didn’t need to argue about the definition.
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The protest itself was sparked by fear in the community. Schwesnedl explained that many employees and customers were scared to leave their homes or come to work due to the presence of federal agents. He felt that staying open wouldn’t be fair or kind, so the businesses closed in solidarity to send a message.
The term “concentration camp” reflects the brutal detention and mass murder of civilians by Nazi Germany.
In contrast, the U.S. government describes ICE facilities as civil detention centers. These are used to hold noncitizens who are in the country without permission or those who are waiting for their court hearings or deportation.
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