Mexican-American journalist Maria Hinojosa sparked controversy during a televised appearance by comparing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations to the Nazi regime, claiming Latino children in Chicago live in fear similar to that of Anne Frank during the Holocaust, as reported by Fox News.

Hinojosa made the remarks on MSNBC’s The Weekend in a segment with co-host Eugene Daniels. Daniels began by asking about the psychological toll that immigration enforcement and federal policies have on minority communities in major cities.

“You’ve been in Chicago, and you have been talking to people there, and I’m curious what you have gleaned from them and other folks you’ve been talking to about what it does to the psyche of a person to watch themselves be – and the people that look like them — be treated with such callousness by the federal government, the agents of the state, and people that have guns and other arms as they are running through their cities,” Daniels asked.

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Hinojosa responded by invoking Holocaust imagery.

“I posted, actually, right after that first day on the ground in Chicago, I posted about the fact that there are little Anne Franks, right? Anne Frank, in Chicago, her name is Anita Franco, and she is terrified,” she said. She went on to argue that children “are afraid to come out of their homes.”

The journalist, who founded Futuro Media, expanded on her perspective by drawing parallels between present-day Chicago and historical persecution.

“Look, I grew up in the city of Chicago. I’m a proud Mexican immigrant from Mexico City, but the South Side of Chicago is my home, and what’s really important in terms of what the relationship that you were saying about our history is that Black and Latino unity in the city of Chicago will only grow thanks to Donald Trump and his Republican Party. So that is something that he and his Republican Party has feared, that unity of Black and Brown people coming together,” Hinojosa said.

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She further emphasized that “Chicago is a city of neighborhoods, and we do not like outsiders coming to tell us how to run our city.”

Comparing immigration enforcement to Holocaust trauma, she stated that Latino communities are experiencing “trauma” similar to that endured by Anne Frank, who hid from Nazi authorities before being captured and killed during World War II.

The discussion came as Daniels suggested that the “callousness” of federal enforcement defined President Donald Trump’s approach in urban communities.

On MSNBC, “Public” radio host Maria Hinojosa compares ICE to the Nazi murderers of Anne Frank. Chicago has little “Anita Francos” that are afraid to come out of their homes…. pic.twitter.com/Y06r49kfo9

— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) September 24, 2025

Trump’s administration has focused on fulfilling a core campaign promise by targeting the deportation of illegal aliens, particularly those guilty of criminal offenses.

ICE officers have often worn masks to shield their identities due to threats and harassment from activists. Despite the protective measures, left-wing commentators such as Hinojosa have likened them to Nazi enforcers.

Earlier this month, Hinojosa posted on X: “I wake up in Chi after a day of witnessing a community under siege. And I think about people going to see the Anne Frank exhibit in New York City. And my brain explodes. She is right here in Chicago. Her name is Anita. Her name is ANITA And she is invisible. And she is Mexican.”

I wake up in Chi after a day of witnessing a community under siege. And I think about people going to see the Anne Frank exhibit in New York City. And my brain explodes. She is right here in Chicago. Her name is Anita. Her name is ANITA And she is invisible. And she is Mexican.

— Maria Hinojosa 🥑 (@Maria_Hinojosa) September 16, 2025

Hinojosa concluded her segment by saying, “On the other hand, people who have privilege with citizenship, you can see that they will defend the city of Chicago against this assault, and they will defend the suburbs of the city of Chicago as well.”as well.”