During Thursday’s Morning Joe interview with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), host Joe Scarborough teamed up with the senator to call ICE “secret police,” along with comparisons of ICE actions to the Ku Klux Klan. Of course, he was “not comparing anything to anything,” but “just saying.” The SAVE Act, a bill focused on election integrity and Voter ID, was a main topic of conversation with the senator. Jonathan Lemire's question noted the high favorability of Voter ID among voters, including democrats. Schumer responded by referring to the SAVE Act as “Jim Crow 2.0”: It's Jim Crow 2.0 and I called it Jim Crow 2.0, and the right wing went nuts all over the internet. That's because they know it's true. What they're trying to do here is the same thing that was done in the south for decades, to prevent people of color from voting.     After stating they will “debate” Voter ID “later (they never did), Scarborough then asked Schumer about ICE and DHS funding, while referring to ICE as secret police: (...) With all the health care cuts that are hurting working Americans, middle class Americans. With all the cuts that are hurting people in Rural America, is there any way you can claw back some of those funds? And instead of giving it to secret - a secret police force (...) At the end of the interview, Scarborough brought up the anniversary of the imprisonment of the klansman that killed civil rights activist Medgar Evers in the 60s: And while you're here, I just feel I should just say this in front of you and everybody else that today in 1994, Medgar Evers, the klansman that killed Medgar Evers, was found guilty of murder and and faced life imprisonment. He died in prison 31 years after he shot Medgar Evers dead in his driveway while his children were inside.” Scarborough then decided to connect the Evers assassination in a seeming comparison to recent ICE shootings in Minnesota: For those who believe they can act with impunity today, and I am not comparing anything to anything. I am just saying, and, Senator, I'm sure you can confirm this. I mean, the wheels of justice do grind slowly at times, but they do move forward. And people should not feel like they can act with impunity in the streets of America and gun down Americans and not ultimately face justice.” Schumer responded: “That you're so right, Joe, but we have to fight for it every step of the way, particularly with these new dark forces that have come about in America and who really don't believe in democracy, elections, justice, or rule of law. We have to fight.” While Scarborough insisted, “I am not comparing anything to anything,” it sure seemed moments in the interview tried to relate everything back to the Jim Crow South or the Ku Klux Klan, from both Schumer and Scarborough. The watering down of terms and historically horrible groups was in constant continuation on Morning Joe and other liberal “news” shows. The comparisons were dangerous for politics and law enforcement, and continue echoes of “no cops, no KKK, no fascist USA.” The transcript is below. Click to expand: MS NOW’s Morning Joe February 5, 2026 08:14:15 AM Eastern (…) JONATHAN LEMIRE: So, Leader Schumer, this talk about election security has revived discussions of the SAVE Act, which you have said you oppose. Proponents of it say that it's, you know, to have ID, you have to prove U.S. Citizenship to be able to vote. Some of the claims they make, to be clear, are overstated. We know there's not widespread election fraud. But polling does suggest there's a new Pew Research poll that 95 percent of Republicans, but also 71 percent of Democrats, like this idea. So why do you not? SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER: It's Jim Crow 2.0 and I called it Jim Crow 2.0, and the right wing went nuts all over the internet. That's because they know it's true. What they're trying to do here is the same thing that was done in the south for decades, to prevent people of color from voting. For instance, if you can't - if you change - you're a woman who got married and changed your last name, you won't be able to show ID and you'll be discriminated against. If you can't find a birth certificate or a proper ID, you'll be discriminated against. This is vicious and nasty. And I said to our Republican colleagues, it will not pass the Senate. You will not get a single democratic vote in the Senate. We're not reviving Jim Crow all over the country. And when the American people hear what exactly it is doing and what its intent is doing, they're going to be against it as well. JOE SCARBOROUGH: Well, we'll debate that later, certainly about Voter ID, but right now I want to stick with the issue at hand. And that has to do with ICE and DHS. Even if you cut off the funding, And this is a concern that Mika has brought up a good bit, even if you're able to cut off their funding, They have such a massive budget from this past year. I'm curious, with all the health care cuts that are hurting working Americans, middle class Americans. With all the cuts that are hurting people in Rural America, is there any way you can claw back some of those funds? And instead of giving it to secret - a secret police force, you can get it back to farmers and people in rural - in upstate New York and the middle of Kansas and give them some health care relief? SCHUMER: Yeah. What the American - the American people are seeing just what you say, Joe. They want money for health care, and they don't want money going to these rogue police forces all across the country. What we can do and what we proposed in the, what Hakeem Jeffries and I came out with, is very simple. The restrictions that we want to put on ICE that I mentioned apply not just to the new money that they're trying to get, and we don't want them to have without any restrictions, without restrictions, but will apply to all the old money as well. So the idea of no masks, the idea of coordinating with your local police team, the idea of being allowed to sue will apply to the old money as well, and greatly restrict it. SCARBOROUGH: Alright. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, thank you so much. And while you're here, I just feel I should just say this in front of you and everybody else that today in 1994, Medgar Evers - the klansman that killed Medgar Evers, was found guilty of murder and and faced life imprisonment. He died in prison 31 years after he shot Medgar Evers dead in his driveway while his children were inside.  For those who believe they can act with impunity today, and I am not comparing anything to anything. I am just saying, and, Senator, I'm sure you can confirm this. I mean, the wheels of justice do grind slowly at times, but they do move forward. And people should not feel like they can act with impunity in the streets of America and gun down Americans and not ultimately face justice. SCHUMER: That you're so right, Joe, but we have to fight for it every step of the way, particularly with these new dark forces that have come about in America and who really don't believe in democracy, elections, justice, or rule of law. We have to fight. But you are right, there is justice if you fight, fight, fight, even if it takes too long to get there. SCARBOROUGH: Alright, thank you so much for being with us Senator. We greatly appreciate it.