As Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents move through Minneapolis neighborhoods, knocking on doors and demanding people prove their citizenship, echoes of 1930s Germany (and the Jim Crow South) can be heard with every knock and forced entry.
When Adolf Hitler was appointed German chancellor on January 30, 1933, he seized every opportunity to consolidate his power through intimidation and terrorizing political enemies. Exploiting a fire set by a mentally disabled Dutch citizen, Hitler convinced the German government to suspend portions of the constitution that protected human rights, including freedom of the press, speech, and assembly.
The decree also emboldened Hitler’s Storm Troopers, empowering them to tap phone lines, censor mail correspondence, and search private homes without a warrant. Additionally, violence increased against German citizens whom Hitler considered enemies.
According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: “After the Nazis came to power, many members of these (Storm Trooper) units were recruited as auxiliary policemen. They were allowed to arbitrarily beat or kill persons they deemed to be opponents. In addition, Nazi Party faithful assaulted those they perceived to be enemies of the regime—in individual spontaneous acts of violence or in locally organized waves of persecution.”
Earlier this week, Missy and I had the privilege of interviewing Pastor Travis Norvell and his wife, Minneapolis School Board member Lori White Norvell. The Norvells recapped what has been happening in their community and schools since ICE officials and agents descended on their city. Travis is the pastor at Judson Memorial Baptist Church.
ICE’s presence has been consistent for months, as the Trump Administration initially sent agents into Minneapolis to search for undocumented Somali nationals. Minnesota is home to the largest Somali diaspora in the world, with roughly 80,000 residing in the city. The Norvells told us that currently, however, very little attention is being placed on them with ICE’s mission expanding across the city.
ICE’s broader focus and increasingly aggressive tactics are bringing them into confrontations with U.S. citizens. These types of confrontations are what led to Renee Good’s murder last week.
The citizens of Minneapolis have had enough, now directly confronting agents. The Norvells told us that they’ve witnessed citizens stop, leave their cars, and attempt to intervene when they see masked ICE agents harassing a fellow neighbor.
However, the Trump Administration is not backing down. In fact, they are doubling their efforts.
Vice President JD Vance offered that enforcement has “only begun” and agents will now go door-to-door looking for undocumented immigrants. The vice president did not give much thought to the rights of U.S. citizens who are feeling terrorized and targeted by their own government.
At this juncture, let’s stop and recall 1933 Germany. The atrocities of the Holocaust did not begin with Auschwitz and the gas chambers; they began with a lie.
Hitler’s rise to power began when he seized an opportunity by spreading false allegations as truth. He then placed his knee on the necks of every group of people he considered inferior or his enemy.
By the time Germany crossed the point of no return, there was nothing standing between the Führer and the death of over 8,000,000 people besides his own morality and mind. Speaking to a group of New York Times reporters in the Oval Office this week, President Donald Trump echoed that sentiment.
When asked whether he would obey international laws, the president said he would. However, he quickly pivoted, questioning the definition of international law and whether the U.S. should abide by it if it did not suit the country’s interests. In reality, of course, he meant his own interests.
When a person is willing to use a lie to further their own interests, no matter the damage it causes to others and the nation, the hubris will take us to dark and devastating places, potentially to concentration camps, gas chambers, or lynching trees. Remember, the Holocaust did not begin at those deadly places; it started with a lie—a BIG lie.
As the temperatures continue to plummet across the country, citizens need to prepare for more ICE storms. No matter who you are, you need to know your rights: immigrants and citizens alike.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is providing valuable, practical information on several situations people might encounter in their daily lives. Whether a brown shirt from 1930s Germany, a white hood from the 1950s Jim Crow era, or an ICE agent in Minneapolis this week, the bottom line for all of us is to “know your rights” because you never know when an ICE storm might come your way.
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