Members of the Trump administration called out Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara after he invoked the Nativity story to criticize immigration raids.
During a press conference with Mayor Jacob Frey Tuesday, O'Hara lamented the "very, very difficult time" communities are experiencing because of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers operating in the area. He likened the scenario to Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem before the first Christmas.
"It’s especially personal to me, having been raised a Catholic, to be in a Christian church this morning as we are approaching Christmas," O’Hara said.
"And I cannot help but think of what is happening in our city today and how that echoes with how outsiders have been treated for thousands of years. How Mary and Joseph themselves were considered outsiders and forced to stay in a barn.
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"That's what we're getting ready to commemorate as Christians around the world while all of this fear is happening in our town," he added.
The comment was widely criticized by conservatives online, including members of the Trump administration.
"In major cities across the country police chiefs use the phrase 'our community' to refer to illegals and foreign trespassers," White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller commented.
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"How abhorrent and humiliating this Minneapolis Police Chief refuses to do his job and has allowed these pedophiles and rapists terrorize Minneapolis and hurt the very people he swore an oath to protect," Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote.
She also listed the names and rap sheets of four criminal illegal immigrants arrested over the last few days in Minneapolis.
"@GovTimWalz and @MayorFrey owe @ICEGov a big thank you," she added.
In a comment to Fox News Digital, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson condemned O'Hara's speech as "unconscionable."
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"It’s unconscionable that anyone would compare criminal illegal aliens to the Son of God," Jackson said. "Law enforcement officials should enforce the law, not allow dangerous criminal illegal aliens to terrorize American communities while making absurd comparisons."
Other social media users also criticized O’Hara’s use of the Nativity story.
"Mary and Joseph weren't illegally in Bethlehem. Hope this helps!" women's rights activist Riley Gaines commented.
Former NFL player Benjamin Watson wrote, "We have to stop using Mary, Joseph and Jesus as pawns in a culture war. Let scripture stand on its own merits without manipulating it to fit an unrelated modern narrative. Problem is most of us don’t read the text."
Conservative radio host Jesse Kelly said, "Never let the communist use your values against you. He hates you. He hates your values. They’re just tools to him. Tools he can use for the revolution."
"'Raised Catholic' is code for 'long ago rejected Catholicism and don’t really know anything about it.' Sadly, this kind of saccharine, brain-dead take on the demands of Christian charity is more or less what our bishops routinely spew," The Federalist senior editor John Daniel Davidson wrote.
