Governor Josh Shapiro of Abington Township criticized Philadelphia’s district attorney Larry Krasner for saying that ICE agents are “wannabe Nazis”, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Monday.
Shapiro said the rhetoric doesn’t help “bring down the temperature” and that such comments are “abhorrent” and “wrong, period, hard stop, end of sentence” during an appearance on FOX News.
From the appearance:
“That’s gross,” U.S. Sen. John Fetterman said in a different FOX segment. “Do not compare anyone to Nazis. Don’t use that kind of rhetoric. That can incite violence.”
Krasner responded that “these are people who have taken their moves from a Nazi playbook and a fascist playbook.”
A recent Substack argues that the reason for inflammatory language is because “exaggeration works.” An excerpt:
Ordinary language no longer carries enough emotional force. Calling something unfair doesn’t mobilize crowds. Calling it fascism does (even though that is a bit threadbare these days). Saying a policy is flawed invites debate. Saying it’s genocide shuts debate down instantly. This is moral inflation. Like currency debasement, every claim must be more extreme than the last to retain impact. Once you’ve labeled something “Nazi,” there’s nowhere left to go except apocalypse. When everything is catastrophic, nothing is.
Notice the pattern: Trump becomes Hitler. ICE becomes the Gestapo. Detention centers become Auschwitz. These aren’t arguments. They’re emotional shortcuts. Instead of proving their case with facts, people borrow the moral weight of history. If you can make your opponent resemble a Nazi, you don’t have to explain anything else. It’s rhetorical judo: hijacking universally condemned events to avoid defending your actual position.
Krasner also addressed Shapiro directly during an interview.
“Governor Shapiro is not meeting the moment,” Krasner said. “The moment requires that we call a subgroup of people within federal law enforcement — who are killing innocent people, physically assaulting innocent people, threatening and punishing the use of video — what they are. … Just say it. Don’t be a wimp.”
“A reminder, Mr. Governor: Silence equals death,” he added.
The Inquirer reported that Shapiro’s administration has been criticized because it honors some ICE detainers in state prisons and provides ICE with access to state databases. Shapiro has also been criticized for not speaking up about ICE activities sooner.
“Because it is the topic of the day, he’s getting these pointed questions, and his answer to that is to point to what they’re doing wrong in Minnesota. Meanwhile, he’s over here telling us that he’s not going to stop collaborating with ICE,” said Tammy Murphy, advocacy manager at immigrant rights group Make the Road Pennsylvania. “It’s easy for him to point the finger to somebody else, but then what is he doing at home?”
Shapiro said on Thursday that he “reached a point where it was critically important” to comment on the situation in Minnesota and tell Pennsylvanians his views.
“I think I’ve been in the same place on this to protect our immigrant communities and also make sure that Pennsylvania is safe,” Shapiro said. “Both [Good and Pretti’s deaths] told me the same story that you had people who were not following proper policing tactics. People who were in the field who seemingly, and it became more clear to me over the last week or two, did not have a clear mission and that the directive that they had clearly was not within the bounds of the constitution.”
Last week during his book tour, Shapiro called for the Trump administration to terminate its immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, He also vowed to protect the people in the event that President Trump chooses to target Pennsylvania with ICE enforcement. In January, Shapiro’s administration published a document titled “Know Your Rights” with instructions for interacting with ICE agents or other forms of law enforcement.
Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who is vying for the governorship this year, said “it’s best to cooperate” with ICE during an interview last week. If President Trump sends more ICE agents to Pennsylvania, she urged Pennsylvania officials to cooperate.
Welcoming 62: A County-Wide Call to Protect Our Communities
In other ICE news, Community for Change Montgomery County recently launched a Change.org petition titled “Welcoming 62: A County-Wide Call to Protect Our Communities”.
From the initiative’s description:
Montgomery County is home to nearly 100,000 immigrants — our neighbors, coworkers, classmates, friends, and family. These community members are an essential part of our county’s fabric. And yet, they are increasingly under threat from federal law enforcement agencies that are violating constitutional protections, bypassing due process, and targeting people based on their perceived immigration status.
We are calling on all 62 municipalities in Montgomery County to act together — to move with collective strength and shared purpose. There is power in numbers. And there is protection in unity.
From the petition, which has 595 signatures at the time of this writing:
We have every reason to believe this escalation will continue. ICE and other federal agencies are operating with impunity, committing civil rights abuses across Pennsylvania and the country. We must now ask: will our local municipalities uphold the rights and safety of the people they serve — or will they stand by, or even assist, as federal agencies break the law and tear families apart?
The description includes a link to a “Welcoming Townships Campaign Kit“, which is described as a way for county residents to “learn how to contact their local officials, attend meetings, and demand policy change”.
Among greater Glenside communities, Cheltenham, Jenkintown, Upper Moreland, Springfield, and Abington have already adopted some form of the policy.
Community for Change was one of the organizers of the “ICE Out for Good” protest in Abington last month.
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Photo: krasnerforda.com