Stephen Colbert says comparing ICE to Nazis is unfair to Nazis

Stephen Colbert used a recent segment of The Late Show to claim Nazis were better than US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents, saying that Nazis were "willing to show their faces."

During the segment, Colbert played a clip from CNN featuring Border Patrol’s commander-at-large, Gregory Bovino, speaking with anchor Dana Bash. In the interview, Bovino argued that critics unfairly demonize federal immigration officers. “They're trying to portray Border Patrol agents and ICE agents as Gestapo, Nazi, and many other words,” Bovino said.

Colbert responded, “Yes, do not compare ICE or Border Patrol agents to the Nazis. That's an unfair comparison. The Nazis were willing to show their faces,” drawing cheers and applause from the studio audience. The so-called was framed as a dig at ICE agents and others who conceal their identities while conducting raids and arrests, and, at the same time, facing threats from left-wing agitators.

Colbert’s criticism escalated further during Monday’s episode, when he addressed the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, who was killed by a federal agent in Minneapolis on Saturday. Colbert used the moment to condemn ICE and the Trump administration, claiming the government’s narrative about the incident was contradicted by publicly available video. “Today, more than 50% of Americans are digging out from a massive winter storm, freezing temperatures from Texas all the way up to Maine. It's frigid here in New York City. I want to thank everyone here who stood outside in the cold today before you came,” Colbert said. “I think we can all agree, f*ck ICE,” prompting more cheers.

In his monologue, Colbert argued that officials “immediately blamed the victim,” saying the administration labeled Pretti a “domestic terrorist.” He pushed back on that characterization and said multiple news organizations had reported that available footage appeared to conflict with federal descriptions of what occurred.

“And again, Trump administration officials immediately blamed the victim, calling him a domestic terrorist, but videos appear to contradict federal accounts of the shooting.”

Colbert also compared the reaction to another fatal shooting involving ICE earlier in the month, one which resulted in the death of anti-ICE agitator Renee Nicole Good after she rammed her car into an agent, suggesting a pattern of official messaging that places responsibility on the person killed.

On Wednesday, a video, allegedly of Pretti, circulated on social media, showing him kicking and damaging ICE vehicles in Minneapolis.

Colbert's show was cancelled last year and is scheduled to end in May.