Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner (D) compared U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to “wannabe Nazis” during a rally on Tuesday in Philadelphia and threatened legal action against them. In his remarks, Krasner stated: “If we have to hunt you down the way they hunted down Nazis for decades, we will find your identities; we will find you; we will achieve justice.” He also asserted that federal officers are not immune from homicide charges even after leaving office and is working with other progressive prosecutors, including Minneapolis’ Mary Moriarty, to hold federal agents accountable at the state level.
Krasner, a far-left prosecutor backed by billionaire George Soros, has long been a lightning rod for controversy. Since taking office in 2018, he has implemented sweeping progressive reforms, such as ending cash bail for some offenses and reducing prosecutions. Republican critics argue that these policies contributed to a dramatic surge in violent crime, with Philadelphia homicides reaching a record 562 in 2021 before declining to a 20-year low by 2024. Krasner was impeached by the Pennsylvania House in 2022 over allegations of “purposeful ineffectiveness,” but he remains in office, dismissing the effort as an attack on “black, brown, and broke” voters.
Krasner’s rhetoric comes amid nationwide tension over ICE enforcement. Other Democratic officials have made similarly controversial statements regarding the agency, including Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes suggesting that under the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law, citizens could legally shoot masked ICE agents if they felt threatened. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has also compared illegal immigrants and ICE to Anne Frank and the Nazis hunting her.
