Hope Walz, the daughter of Minnesota’s governor and former vice-presidential hopeful Tim Walz, recently shared a Christmas message that took aim at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Her remarks expressed solidarity with communities she believes are negatively impacted by the agency’s activities.
In a video posted to social media on Christmas Day, Hope Walz said, “I just wanted to say Merry Christmas to all. Today I am holding all of our neighbors that ICE has been terrorizing near and dear to my heart, and sending them love and light, as well as all of our unhoused folks and just anybody that may be struggling right now, I’m holding very close to me, and I hope that you can all do so as well. This past year has been a tough one for all of us, but I’m so proud of the work that I have done in this awesome community and everything that you guys do every day. And yeah, happy holidays.”
This statement is part of a pattern of politically charged commentary from the 24-year-old. Back in August, Hope Walz made headlines with a social media video where she criticized what she called Trump’s “bitch baby, wussy, scaredy cat behavior in D.C.” She used this as a platform to delve into the history of mass incarceration in the United States.
Walz attributed her understanding of the issue to her time at the University of Minnesota, where she read Locking Up Our Own by James Forman Jr. She suggested this book be read alongside The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. According to Walz, these works shed light on the “modern mass incarceration of Black men.” She claimed that Trump’s federal crackdown on crime is merely an extension of long-standing U.S. policies that disproportionately target those who are not “rich and white men,” describing Trump’s actions in the capital as simply “more of it.”
In April, Hope Walz made the decision to skip graduate school, stating she would not endorse institutions that fail to support their students and their right to protest.
She cited reading Locking Up Our Own by James Forman Jr. while at the University of Minnesota and recommended pairing it with The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. Walz argued that these books help explain “modern mass incarceration of like Black men,” and claimed the federal crackdown on crime under Trump is a continuation of longstanding U.S. policies that target those who are not “rich and white men.” She added, “It’s just like, more of it,” when describing Trump’s efforts in the capital.
In April, she decided not to attend graduate school, saying she would not support institutions that “don’t support their students and the right to protest.”
