Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota and Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 presidential election, is facing criticism from officials at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after comparing federal law enforcement agents implementing President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown to a Nazi-era political police force.
The comments came during the Democrat’s commencement speech at the University of Minnesota Law School graduation ceremony on Saturday, May 17, in which he referred to the Trump administration’s rapid and controversial deportations, including of pro-Palestinian activists on college campuses and immigrants.
“Donald Trump’s modern-day Gestapo is scooping folks up off the streets,” Walz said in his remarks.
The Gestapo became infamous for its brutality in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe during World War II. Today, the institution and its political policemen are symbols of authoritarian policing, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Walz’s comments have drawn attention online and spurred a response from the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, on May 19.
Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee Tim Walz campaigns the day before election day, in West Ellis, Wisconsin, U.S., November 4, 2024.
100 days in office: Trump has cracked down on immigration and the border. At what cost?
The Department’s Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in the statement that Walz’s comments were “sickening,” and claimed similar rhetoric and demonization of ICE officers has led to a 413% increase in assaults on immigration officers. USA TODAY has reached out to the agency to inquire over the source of the statistic.
Walz has been a frequent critic of Trump and did not hold back his disapproval during the commencement speech, focusing on what he says is the administration’s repeated violation of the rule of law.
“This is what the crumbling of the rule of law looks like in real time,” Walz said to the audience of law graduates. “And it’s exactly what the founders of this nation feared − a tyrant abusing power to persecute scapegoats and enemies.”
More: White House hits Donald Trump after he accused Democrats of running a ‘Gestapo administration’
Since taking office, Trump has pledged to deport 1 million people a year, employing aggressive methods in his first 100 days including declaring a national emergency at the border, deploying the military to the U.S.-Mexico border, extending a Biden-era policy that suspends access to asylum, and mobilizing half a dozen federal agencies to assist ICE immigration agents.
His immigration crackdown has set off a flurry of legal challenges, caused a spike in immigrant arrests and a dramatic decline in illegal border crossings. ICE has also accused immigrants, in high-profile cases, of membership in violent gangs – often without evidence or criminal charges, and has transported hundreds to El Salvador’s infamously brutal CECOT mega prison.
Contributing: Lauren Villagran and Ignacio Calderon, USA TODAY
Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@usatoday.com and on X @KathrynPlmr.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tim Walz calls ICE ‘Gestapo.’ Agency calls comparison ‘sickening.’
