Holocaust Survivor’s Powerful Warning to Trump’s ICE Director Resurfaces

In 2017, Holocaust survivor Bernard Marks delivered an emotional speech during a public immigration debate, directly addressing then-ICE Director Thomas Homan. Wearing a “Keep American Families Together” sticker, Marks warned, “History is not on your side.”

Marks, who survived Auschwitz and Dachau, shared that his entire family was killed during the Holocaust simply for being Jewish. He criticized harsh immigration policies and urged Sacramento Sheriff Scott Jones not to cooperate with federal deportation efforts.

“I spent five and a half years in concentration camps because we picked on people,” he said, drawing a powerful parallel between past atrocities and current immigration enforcement.

Marks’s words resonated deeply with the audience and have regained attention today amid ongoing immigration debates. Before passing in 2018 at age 89, he remained an advocate for justice, education, and remembrance, saying, “We can have a better country … a country without hate.”