A Connecticut middle school teacher is going viral for allegedly having students identify similarities and differences between United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Donald Trump administration and how Jewish people were persecuted in Nazi Germany.
The teacher, who allegedly works at Hillcrest Middle School in Trumbull, Conn., assigned students classwork on how to prepare for a “civil dialogue” where they could effectively exchange ideas and counterpoints. The success criteria were as follows:
- “I can identify similarities and differences between immigration enforcement in the U.S. today and the persecution of Jews in Germany in the 1930 [sic].”
- “I can identify different perspectives and evidence used to support those perspectives.”
- “I can form my own opinions and identify areas I want to learn more about.”
Students were also tasked with reading an article and listening to an interview. The context and content of those resources were not publicly available as of publication.
Teacher at Hillcrest Middle School in CT allegedly gave kids an assignment equating ICE with nazi Germany
Any comment @HMSTrumbull ? pic.twitter.com/Lopm5na7b4
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 19, 2026
Additionally, it remained unclear what class the assignment was for, as well as the ages of the students. Neither Hillcrest Middle School nor the Trumbull School District had addressed the controversy as of Thursday morning.
A Libs of TikTok post on X sharing the story had over 100,000 views within its first 12 hours.
“This distorts and belittles the crime of the Holocaust,” one X user wrote. “The Jews lived in Germany for 400 years. They did not commit crimes or break in. Children were taken whose parents were German war heroes in earlier German wars. Ridiculous.”
Another added, “Any parent that allows their child to do this assignment is weak. Parents need to start taking real stances regarding their child’s education or homeschool them.”
Although some social media users believed they had identified the educator, their identity had not been confirmed. As a result, Inquisitr News is not naming the teacher out of safety concerns.
This is straight-up indoctrination, not education. Comparing law enforcement officers doing their job to Nazis is disgusting propaganda. Fire the teacher, audit the curriculum, and stop weaponizing our kids against America.
— Keaton Hobby (@RealKeatonHobby) February 19, 2026
A significant number of responses to the Libs of TikTok post included X users accusing the educator of trying to manipulate students. Others questioned whether the assignment is contradictory by asking students to form their own opinions while also identifying similarities and differences via resources the teacher provided. Because the full assignment was not available, it remains unclear whether the article or interview came from news organizations that strive to be objective or from sources that may lean in a particular political direction.
“This would be an enlightening assignment if the students have been presented with the true history of Nazi government’s persecution and the true history of [ICE’s] mission and immigration laws,” read one X post.
Others argued that the teacher didn’t even get the date correct. The assignment specifically mentions 1930, whereas Adolf Hitler did not take control of Germany until 1933. Anti-Jewish legislation did not begin in earnest until that same year, with the Nuremberg Laws following in 1935.
“And we wonder why our schools are falling behind the global standard,” an X user commented. “They’re no longer educating kids, they’re indoctrinating them.”
