Some in the Trump administration were among those who issued scathing rebukes to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who likened Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to Nazi Germany's Gestapo in a commencement speech over the weekend.
The Department of Homeland Security called the Democrat's remarks "absolutely sickening."
In his address to the University of Minnesota's law school commencement on Saturday, Walz referred to federal immigration agents as President Donald Trump's "modern-day Gestapo," the official secret police of Nazi Germany formed in 1933 to enforce Nazi policies, including arresting and imprisoning political opponents.
"I'm gonna start with the flashing red light — Donald Trump's modern-day Gestapo is scooping folks up off the streets. They're in unmarked vans, wearing masks, being shipped off to foreign torture dungeons," Walz said. "No chance to mount a defense. Not even a chance to kiss a loved one goodbye. Just grabbed up by masked agents, shoved into those vans and disappeared."
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller on Sunday called Walz's language "vile," adding it "can only be construed as inciting insurrection and violence."
Walz got the attention of the Department of Homeland Security, too.
"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," DHS said in a Sunday post.
NewsNation's Geraldo Rivera said: "Gov Tim [Walz] indulging in extreme Nazi talk criticizing roundups of undocumented immigrants. Inflammatory language helps nobody. Better to pursue injunctions preventing expulsions and demanding due process. Don't hate on cops doing their jobs."
Minnesota Republican 2026 gubernatorial candidate Kendall Qualls said Walz "is the real tyrant and modern-day Gestapo."
"Don't forget that it was Tim Walz who locked down our state for 15 months, established a tip line for people to report on their neighbors, closed our schools and sent small business owners to jail," he said in a post to X on Sunday.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.