At today's House Oversight Committee hearing, Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO) grilled Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN).
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00:00From Missouri. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm I'm just still kind of trying to
00:06understand the connection between our ICE officers and the Gestapo. I think the
00:13statement was horrific. The acting ICE director had this to say, on the final
00:20day of National Police Week when those brave enough to put on a badge and a
00:25uniform to mourn their fallen brothers and sisters, Minnesota Governor Tim
00:29Waltz referred to my professional hard-working ICE agents and officers as
00:33a modern-day Gestapo. This is abhorrent, dehumanizing, and ignorant comments should
00:40not be tolerated. It seems that Mr. Waltz prefers violent criminal aliens are
00:44released into Minnesota's communities. If the governor doesn't like the laws, he's
00:49free to advocate that Congress change them, but he should refrain from putting
00:53ICE officers in danger by likening them to one of the most appalling groups and
00:58history. Assaults on against ICE officers are are up over 400 percent from this
01:05time last period. And part of that is because politicians like Governor Waltz
01:10are careless with their politically motivated rhetoric. He should issue an
01:14immediate apology to the men and women protecting his communities. Governor Hochul,
01:19do you agree with the statements that Governor Waltz said? Do you agree with the
01:24characterization that ICE agents are Gestapo? I don't use language like that in
01:29describing anyone. My view is that we respect our law enforcement, but also in a
01:34case where people have gone too far, they should be called out. Governor Pritzker, do you agree with that association?
01:38Associating ICE officers with Gestapo? It's not a word I would use, but I will say that I
01:44understand the sentiments that people feel. Okay, well thank you for being reasonable here.
01:49Next door, Governor Waltz, is a group called, they're actually meeting here today, the Zionist
01:55Organization of America. And I spoke with Morton Klein, who is their their national
02:00president, and he had this to say. He wanted me to read this to you. As a child of Holocaust survivors,
02:06who lost almost my whole family to Gestapo Nazis, I find Governor Waltz comparing Americans to ICE
02:13officials to Nazis a dramatic insult. Waltz should be ashamed of himself, and I demand that he retract
02:20and apologize for this ugly, phony statement that diminishes the horror of the Holocaust.
02:27So I'm going to give you another chance, Governor Waltz. Do you apologize for your associating,
02:34your comparison to ICE agents as Gestapo? Thank you, Mr. Burleson.
02:39Mr. Burleson, what I said is using a historical reference on authoritarianism, watching in my state
02:46and across this country, uncovered faces. Governor Waltz, it's a simple question. Will you apologize
02:53to this Jewish community? Will you apologize to Jewish Americans? I don't know Mr. Klein. I would
03:00certainly be glad to speak with him if he would like. Mr. Waltz, let me ask you this question.
03:03Are there any events that you regret from actions of illegal immigrants in your state? Are there any
03:14events that come to mind that you think of that weigh on you? I certainly think any, something that
03:23harms someone. So let me give you an idea. Minnesota, your state, April 25th, ICE arrested an illegal alien
03:30from Ecuador charged for criminal sexual conduct with a child. Again, in Minnesota on May 8th, ICE
03:37arrests an illegal alien from Mexico for selling heroin, meth, and fentanyl. Mr. Pritzker, in Chicago
03:46in 2018, an illegal alien from Mexico is charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor,
03:52then was released back into the public in 2022. And then Governor Hochul in New York, again, a Mexican
03:58national was charged, but this time for slashing a victim with a machete and then released in January
04:05of this year, all or ignoring ICE detainers and federal warrant. Mr. Waltz, do you, would you deport
04:15any of these individuals? Could you give the names of the individuals and what they're, I can get those
04:21to you? But if these are true, if somebody from Ecuador was charged with sexual criminal sexual
04:26conduct with a child, would you want that person deported? If they followed through due process and
04:31were found guilty? Certainly, that's what we do now. We follow, we follow federal law. You know,
04:36your states refuse to honor ICE detainers, even for illegal aliens convicted of serious crimes like
04:42assault or sexual offenses. The ICE data shows that 56,791 illegal aliens booked for serious offenses
04:53in 2025 alone, including over 3,000 for sex crimes. And that's why we're here today. Thank you,
05:01Mr. Chairman. I yield back. The gentleman yields back. The chair now recognizes Mr. Crane from Arizona.
05:07Mr. Crane from Arizona. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.