Tim Walz’s Daughter Sparks Backlash with Christmas Wishes for Illegal Aliens

Hope Walz, the daughter of Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, is facing mounting backlash after posting a Christmas Day TikTok video offering sympathy to illegal immigrants she claimed were being “terrorized” by federal immigration agents — even as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carried out targeted enforcement operations across the Twin Cities under President Donald Trump’s administration.

“I just wanted to say Merry Christmas to all,” Walz said in the video. “Today, I’m holding our neighbors that ICE has been terrorizing near and dear to my heart and sending them all the love and light, as well as all the unhoused folks… just anybody that may be struggling right now I’m holding very close to me.”

The twenty-something activist concluded the message by adding, “This year has been a tough one for all of us.”

The remarks immediately drew sharp criticism online, with many accusing Walz of minimizing the rule of law while ignoring victims harmed by illegal immigration. “Not a word about the victims of illegal alien crime,” one commentator wrote. “She’s defending lawbreakers while ignoring the Americans who’ve paid the price.”

ICE confirmed that agents conducted enforcement actions in Minnesota on Christmas Day as part of ongoing investigations into immigration fraud networks connected to Somali communities in the Minneapolis area, including the Little Somalia district. The area has long been under scrutiny for extensive welfare fraud and suspected terror-financing activity, prompting intensified federal oversight during President Trump’s second term.

The controversy surrounding Hope Walz comes as her father’s administration is already under renewed scrutiny for widespread fraud tied to Minnesota’s daycare and welfare systems.

That scrutiny intensified this week after a viral video posted by independent journalist Nick Shirley showed the Quality Learning Center in Minneapolis — a daycare licensed for up to 99 children — appearing nearly empty during business hours.

“There’s no one here,” Shirley said while panning across a deserted parking lot. Inside the building, a woman could be heard shouting, “Don’t open up. It’s ICE!”

“Go away. You’re not welcome here. Shame on you,” the woman added before retreating inside.

Shirley noted that the facility had received nearly $2 million in taxpayer funds and ridiculed the business for misspelling “learning” on its sign. “Are you in favor of $1.9 million going illegally or fraudulently to a daycare that can’t even spell its own name?” he asked viewers.

According to federal and state records, the daycare has received at least $7.8 million in subsidies since 2019, despite racking up 95 state violations. Those violations reportedly include missing child records, hazardous conditions, and failures to maintain required staffing documentation.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) publicly condemned Gov. Walz following the video’s release. “Four million dollars of hard-earned tax dollars going to an education center that can’t even spell ‘learning’ correctly,” Emmer said. “Care to explain this one, Tim Walz?”

The daycare revelations have reignited broader concerns about what lawmakers are calling the largest fraud scandal in Minnesota history. Estimates suggest more than $9 billion in federal and state funds may have been misused through fake daycare operations, meal programs, and nonprofit fronts.

Investigators have alleged that portions of the stolen money were funneled through Somali-run organizations and ultimately routed to terror-linked groups, including Al-Shabaab, an Islamist militant organization operating in East Africa.

Shirley, who has spent months independently investigating Minnesota’s welfare infrastructure, claimed his team documented more than $110 million in suspicious activity across multiple “ghost facilities” in a single day of fieldwork.

As federal investigations expand and ICE continues enforcement actions, critics argue that statements like Hope Walz’s reflect a broader pattern of progressive indifference toward fraud, national security risks, and the rule of law — even as hardworking taxpayers are left footing the bill.