The haunting words of Anne Frank, written while hiding from Nazi persecution, are finding eerie resonance in modern-day Minnesota according to Governor Tim Walz. The Democratic leader has invoked Frank's famous diary to condemn what he describes as the terrorizing impact of President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement policies in his state.
Historical Parallels Drawn in Press Conference
Speaking at a Sunday press conference, Governor Walz made direct comparisons between current Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations and the authoritarian tactics that once hunted families like Anne Frank's during World War II. "Terrible things are happening outside," Walz said, echoing Frank's diary entries. "At any time of night and day, poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. Families are torn apart; men, women and children are separated."
Children Living in Fear
The governor emphasized that children in immigrant communities are increasingly afraid to attend school amid stepped-up immigration raids. This fear affects both undocumented children and U.S.-born children whose parents lack documentation. Walz warned that history would judge the federal government harshly if such enforcement continues unchecked, stating: "Somebody's going to write that children's story about Minnesota."
Not the First Such Comparison
This isn't the first time Walz has drawn controversial historical parallels. Last year, he referred to ICE as President Trump's "modern-day Gestapo." He joins other Democratic leaders who have likened the administration's immigration approach to authoritarian regimes.
Illinois Governor's Warning
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker previously cautioned: "This is how authoritarian regimes do it. They create these kinds of fake ideas that there's an enemy out there and it could be sitting next to you. So let's round them up, let's make sure they are the subjects of the laws that we're passing, because we don't like who they are. That is what authoritarian regimes do."
Recent Incidents Fueling Outrage
Critics say such rhetoric reflects growing alarm over ICE's tactics. Social media has been flooded with videos and testimonies of people being stopped, questioned and detained in public spaces, creating widespread fear within immigrant communities.
The Spider-Man Backpack Case
Just last week, a widely shared image showed ICE agents detaining five-year-old Liam Ramos wearing a Spider-Man backpack in the Minneapolis suburb of Columbia Heights. The child became a flashpoint for outrage, with advocates calling his detention evidence that Trump's mass deportation campaign has "little to do with crime and a lot to do with terrorizing children and their families."
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said ICE officers took the boy into custody only after his father fled during an attempted arrest, but advocates argue the incident is part of a broader pattern of aggressive enforcement.
Statistics Reveal Shifting Enforcement
According to a Guardian analysis of records obtained by the Deportation Data Project, ICE booked approximately 3,800 minors into immigrant family detention between January and October 2025. This included children as young as one or two years old. More than 2,600 of those minors were apprehended by ICE officers inside the country rather than at the border, a shift critics say reflects an increasingly aggressive enforcement strategy targeting interior communities.
Public Reaction to Historical Analogy
Public response to Walz's Anne Frank comparison was immediate and polarized across social media platforms.
One user wrote: "And just like we look back and ask 'how could this happen' one day people will look back on 2020s America and wonder the same. All it takes is for good men to stay silent."
Another commented: "If Anne Frank was alive today: 'You don't need to hide in my basement....you can just take the free flight to your home country.'"
A third added: "Governor Walz's words are a stark warning, and entirely warranted. This administration's vindictive, unchecked immigration crackdown, with agents evading accountability for deadly force while terrorising communities, fosters exactly the kind of fear that echoes history's gravest chapters. It's lawless, un-American, and a disgrace."
Call for De-escalation
Governor Walz concluded his remarks by urging the Trump administration to withdraw federal immigration agents from Minnesota immediately and de-escalate enforcement activities that he believes are creating a climate of fear reminiscent of history's darkest periods.
