Hope Walz, daughter of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), this week ripped into the Trump administration by wishing a Merry Christmas to those who have been “terrorized” by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“Today, I’m holding all of our neighbors that ICE has been terrorizing near and dear to my heart and sending them love and light, as well as all of our unhoused folks — and just anybody that may be struggling right now, I’m holding very close to me and I hope you can all do so as well,” Walz said in a TikTok video.
“This past year has been a tough one for all of us, but I am so proud of all the work I have done in this awesome community and everything you guys do every day,” she continued.
Walz has used TikTok in recent weeks to stand “up for what is right and for the little guy” following the Trump administration’s ICE deployment into the North Star State earlier this month. She slammed the president after he used a slur to describe her father, which she said unleashed “a f‑‑‑ing s‑‑‑storm regarding offensive language towards me and my family and specifically my brother,” Gus, who has a nonverbal learning disorder.
Last month, Trump ended legal protections for Somalis in Minnesota and accused the state’s governor of being “a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity.” Trump has placed the blame on Tim Walz while also going after the state’s Somali population.
The governor said Trump was “demonizing” Minnesota Somalis and urged him to “Do your job. Get the criminals out. Secure our border.”
“But do it with dignity and respect to the American tradition of respecting immigrants as refugees as a beacon of hope,” he told host Kristen Welker on NBC’s “Meet the Press” last month.
White House border czar Tom Homan said agents were ramping up operations around St. Paul and Minneapolis due to “criminal activity” in the areas. This comes in the wake of a massive fraud scandal involving federal dollars, with dozens of Somali community members charged in connection with or convicted for these schemes.
Minneapolis Police Department Chief Brian O’Hara criticized ICE last week after an agent was seen dragging a woman through the icy street. Onlookers came to her aid and said she was pregnant and could not breathe, according to The Associated Press.
“This egregious disregard for human dignity is appalling,” O’Hara said in the statement. “It is deeply concerning that there appears to be a lack of accountability from our federal partners.