A recent segment on CNN drew renewed scrutiny after a guest made extreme claims about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations while host Jake Tapper offered minimal resistance to the assertions during the broadcast, as reported by The Gateway Pundit.
During the segment, Jamie Schwesnedl, identified as a co-owner of Moon Palace Books in Minneapolis, compared current immigration enforcement activities to historical atrocities, including Nazi concentration camps.
Schwesnedl claimed that ICE facilities amounted to concentration camps and suggested they could escalate further.
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“They take people to ports here, which literally was built as a concentration camp and Alligator Alcatraz, which we can all agree is a concentration camp,” Schwesnedl said on air.
He continued, “I’m not saying they’re putting people in ovens yet, but these are concentration camps.”
Tapper did not directly challenge the analogy or correct the historical comparison during the exchange, instead briefly moving the conversation along.
The comments aired on CNN without an on-screen correction or extended rebuttal from the host.
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The remarks quickly circulated online, prompting criticism that the network allowed inflammatory rhetoric about federal law enforcement officers to go largely unchecked. ICE agents are responsible for enforcing federal immigration law and conducting arrests and removals under statutes passed by Congress.
The CNN segment aired amid heightened political rhetoric surrounding immigration enforcement, particularly in Minnesota.
On Sunday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz made similar comparisons while speaking publicly about ICE operations in the state.
“Allow our children to go back to school. We have got children in Minnesota hiding in their houses, afraid to go outside,” Walz said.
He then invoked a historical parallel: “Many of us grew up reading that story of Anne Frank. Somebody’s going to write that children’s story about Minnesota.”
Yes, this is a real comment from the Governor of Minnesota.
Tim Walz: “Children are hiding in their houses afraid. We grew up reading the story of Anne Frank. Somebody’s going to write that story about Minnesota.”
pic.twitter.com/tG6q1VICYr— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 25, 2026
Walz’s comments likened federal immigration enforcement to the persecution of Jews during World War II, drawing further attention to the language being used by prominent Democrats when discussing ICE activities.
In addition to the historical comparisons, Walz urged voters who previously supported President Donald Trump or his administration’s immigration policies to reconsider their position.
“You’re allowed to decide at any point that you are not with this anymore,” Walz said.
“If you voted for the administration, heck even if you thought Operation Metro Surge was a good idea and sounded like something we could do about it a month ago, you’re still allowed to look at what’s happening here in Minnesota and say this isn’t what I wanted or what I want.”
The CNN appearance and Walz’s remarks come as immigration enforcement has become a central political issue in several states, including Minnesota, where ICE operations have drawn protests and legal challenges.
Critics of the rhetoric argue that comparing federal law enforcement actions to Nazi-era atrocities inflames tensions and misrepresents the nature of immigration detention facilities, which operate under U.S. law and judicial oversight.
Supporters of stronger immigration enforcement have pointed to the lack of pushback during the CNN segment as another example of major media outlets allowing extreme claims to air without scrutiny.
As the national debate over immigration continues, the language used by public officials and media figures remains under close watch, particularly when it involves comparisons to some of history’s darkest chapters.
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