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Hope Walz, the daughter of Minnesota’s governor and recent vice-presidential hopeful Tim Walz, shared a holiday message that took a critical stance against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She expressed her support for 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 the latest in a series of politically charged messages from the 24-year-old. Back in August, Hope Walz made headlines with a social media video where she criticized what she described as former President Trump’s “infantile behavior” in Washington, D.C., using it as a platform to delve into the history of mass incarceration in the country.
She mentioned reading James Forman Jr.’s Locking Up Our Own during her time at the University of Minnesota and suggested it be read alongside Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow. Walz argued these works illuminate the “modern mass incarceration of Black men” and contended that Trump’s crime policies represent a continuation of longstanding U.S. practices that disproportionately affect those who are not wealthy and white. She remarked that Trump’s actions were simply “more of it” in terms of ongoing federal policies.
In April, she opted against pursuing graduate studies, citing her unwillingness to support institutions that do not back their students’ rights 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.”