Former MSNBC host Tiffany Cross sparked immediate backlash Tuesday night after accusing the Trump administration of “kidnapping people” and sending them to “concentration camps.” Her comments, made during a panel on CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip, drew sharp criticism from fellow panelists and viewers alike for invoking Holocaust-era language to describe U.S. immigration enforcement operations.
Cross claimed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with alleged assistance from the Army National Guard, was being used by the Trump administration to “disappear” individuals in a manner she likened to Nazi Germany.
“We are normalizing a government agency disappearing people. We’re talking about it like it’s no big deal that they are kidnapping people and transporting them to concentration camps, both domestic and foreign,” Cross said.
Her remarks came amid a discussion about recent ICE operations and enforcement against illegal immigration. But it was the Holocaust comparison that immediately drew objection, particularly from New York Post editor-at-large Kelly Jane Torrance, who pushed back forcefully.
“I think that’s kind of insulting to Jewish Holocaust survivors,” Torrance responded.
Cross doubled down, insisting her analogy was justified.
“It is not insulting to the Jewish Holocaust. I find it insulting that you could even fix your mouth to defend this disgusting behavior,” she shot back.
When Torrance asked if there were “gas ovens” at these so-called camps, Cross refused to engage with the question and instead insisted that “it doesn’t matter.”
Despite being the one to raise the concentration camp comparison, Cross later claimed that her language had “nothing to do with Jewish people” and accused Torrance of trying to “make yourself or somebody else the center of attention.”
CNN’s Tiffany Cross repeatedly accuses President Trump of disappearing people and sending them to Nazi style concertation camps.
“We’re talking about it like it’s no big deal that they are kidnaping people and transporting them to concentration camps” pic.twitter.com/vKLbbSLQT2
— Thomas Hern (@ThomasMHern) July 9, 2025
Critics were quick to condemn the exchange, with many noting the dangerous implications of minimizing the atrocities of the Holocaust by equating immigration detention centers — which, while controversial, are subject to federal oversight — with extermination camps.
Former Acting ICE Director Tom Homan addressed the rhetoric during a separate interview on Fox News, stating:
“This kind of inflammatory, irresponsible language is exactly what puts ICE agents at risk,” Homan told host Martha MacCallum. “We’ve seen ambush-style attacks on officers. This is not going to stop if people like Tiffany Cross keep fueling it.”
The broader issue of political hyperbole has increasingly dominated media discussions, particularly around immigration enforcement. Critics argue that language like Cross’s not only distorts facts but also inflames tensions and delegitimizes legitimate policy debates.
