--- description: A Holocaust survivor told President Trump's top immigration enforcement officer that stricter policies are "on the wrong side of history" title: Holocaust Survivor Warns Trump Administration: 'History Is Not on Your Side' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte4c01d0b3f099c2a/6988c0792dce01ab539ecd0b/bernard-marks.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Immigration](/tag/immigration/) ## Immigration Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Holocaust Survivor Warns Trump Administration: 'History Is Not on Your Side' ## Video: The Last Nazi Trials [Watch (HLS stream): The Last Nazi Trials](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/iBig1Tcg.m3u8) (7:02)  _Published 2016-05-03. The trial of a former Nazi guard brings forth questions about justice and forgiveness for Holocaust survivors and German citizens._ by [Jennifer Calfas](/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 29, 2017 7:52 PM CUT  Bernard Marks, who survived the Nazi holocaust at the Auschwitz concentration camp, speaks during a town hall meeting with Thomas Homan, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in Sacramento, California on March 28, 2017. Bernard Marks, who survived the Nazi holocaust at the Auschwitz concentration camp, speaks during a town hall meeting with Thomas Homan, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in Sacramento, California on March 28, 2017.Stephen Lam—Reuters by [Jennifer Calfas](/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 29, 2017 7:52 PM CUT An 87-year-old [Holocaust](http://time.com/4654554/holocaust-museum-white-house-remembrance-day-jews-donald-trump/ "undefined") survivor didn’t mince words when he told off a top immigration enforcement official at a meeting in California Tuesday —warning that history is not on the side of the Trump administration. Bernard Marks, who said he survived imprisonment in [Auschwitz](http://time.com/4373337/nazi-trial-auschwitz-survivor-conviction/ "undefined") and [Dachau](http://time.com/3679153/1945-report-dachau/ "undefined") concentration camps, spoke out while addressing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director [Thomas Homan](http://time.com/4704084/donald-trump-immigration-sheriffs-287g/ "undefined") at a public forum in Sacramento. “When I was a little boy in Poland, for no other reason but for being Jewish, I was hauled off by the Nazis,” Marks told them, [CBS Sacramento reported](http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2017/03/28/holocaust-survivor-has-strong-words-for-ice-director-sheriff-at-immigration-forum/ "undefined"). “And for no other reason I was picked up and separated from my family, who was exterminated in Auschwitz. And I am a survivor of Auschwitz and Dachau.” “We stand up here, Mr. Jones, don’t forget,” he continued. “History is not on your side.” Marks’ comments were [met with cheers and applause](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF8u3aPvlKk "undefined") from the audience. Homan responded to Marks’ comments, insisting that immigration enforcement officials will only arrest people in courthouses, but not on [school grounds](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/federal-immigration-raids-net-many-without-criminal-records-sowing-fear/2017/02/16/a37e5e76-f486-11e6-a9b0-ecee7ce475fc%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.61b62fba8c40 "undefined") or [at churches](http://time.com/4674729/immigrations-church-sensitive-policy-concerns/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4717077/holocaust-survivor-trump-immigration/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4717077/holocaust-survivor-trump-immigration/"},"headline":"Holocaust Survivor Warns Trump Administration: 'History Is Not on Your Side'","datePublished":"2017-03-29T19:52:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:05:55.814Z","description":"He survived Auschwitz and Dachau","url":"https://time.com/4717077/holocaust-survivor-trump-immigration/","keywords":["Immigration","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte4c01d0b3f099c2a/6988c0792dce01ab539ecd0b/bernard-marks.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jennifer Calfas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jennifer-calfas/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte4c01d0b3f099c2a/6988c0792dce01ab539ecd0b/bernard-marks.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Bernard Marks, who survived the Nazi holocaust at the Auschwitz concentration camp, speaks during a town hall meeting with Thomas Homan, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in Sacramento","caption":"Bernard Marks, who survived the Nazi holocaust at the Auschwitz concentration camp, speaks during a town hall meeting with Thomas Homan, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in Sacramento","creditText":"Stephen Lam—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/immigration/","name":"Immigration"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4717077/holocaust-survivor-trump-immigration/","name":"Holocaust Survivor Warns Trump Administration: 'History Is Not on Your Side'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Last Nazi Trials","description":"The trial of a former Nazi guard brings forth questions about justice and forgiveness for Holocaust survivors and German citizens.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/iBig1Tcg/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-05-03T21:02:07.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/iBig1Tcg.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4717077/holocaust-survivor-trump-immigration/","duration":"PT7M2S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4717077/holocaust-survivor-trump-immigration/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```