Legitimizing Nazi comparisons to ICE agents and treating the debate about illegal immigration as akin to a fight against fascism cannot be separated from the rise of left-wing antisemitism.
For those who oppose President Donald Trump, the tragic shootings of two individuals in Minneapolis last month while protesting efforts to enforce immigration laws, demonstrated that the administration has gone too far. But it is now also painfully clear that the widespread and growing willingness of his opponents to analogize both the president and the agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency with German Nazis has also taken this debate beyond the bounds of acceptable public discourse.
And it’s imperative that the pushback against not merely cheapening the memory of the Holocaust, but the sort of rhetoric that is antithetical to a working democracy, not just come from the president’s supporters or others who agree with his policies. To date, there haven’t been many indications that there actually is a critical mass of centrist Democrats who are ready to take on the left wing of their party over this matter. But, as with the increasing volume of antisemitism and anti-Zionism coming from some of the same people throwing around irresponsible Nazi comparisons, it’s important that the debate about this issue not be one fought strictly along party lines.
A debate among Democrats?
