Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz holds a news conference at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Jan. 5, 2026. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
"We have got children in Minnesota hiding in their houses, afraid to go outside. Many of us grew up reading that story of Anne Frank," Walz said, referring to the German-Jewish teenager who documented her life in hiding during the Nazi persecution in World War II.
"Somebody is going to write that children's story about Minnesota, and there's one person who can end this now," he added, referring to President Donald Trump.
On Monday, Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, Trump's special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism at the State Department, criticized the comparison, noting the difference between enforcing immigration law and genocide.
"Ignorance like this cheapens the horror of the Holocaust. Anne Frank was in Amsterdam legally and abided by Dutch law," he wrote on X. "She was hauled off to a death camp because of her race and religion. Her story has nothing to do with the illegal immigration, fraud, and lawlessness plaguing Minnesota today."
ANTI-ICE AGITATOR ALLEGEDLY BITES OFF FEDERAL OFFICER'S FINGER DURING MINNEAPOLIS ATTACK
To this day, Anne Frank is one of the most famous victims of the Holocaust, and her diary is required reading in many American schools. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
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The Trump administration and the Department of Homeland Security have said federal agents are targeting illegal immigrants who have committed crimes while in the United States. Some of the worst offenders have been arrested for or charged with violent crimes and sex crimes against children, DHS has said.
Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to louis.casiano@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trumps-antisemitism-envoy-slams-walz-comparing-ice-enforcement-anne-frank-holocaust