Newly elected Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez on Tuesday compared President Trump's hardline immigration policies to the Jim Crow era of segregation between blacks and whites.

"Where were you when Donald Trump and Republicans from the far right were targeting Latino communities and threatening to turn back the clock of history and progress?" Perez said. "I feel so frequently — you know when the plane lands and they say you should set your clocks to whatever the local time is."

"I feel so frequently today like we should be setting our clocks back to Jim Crow," he said. "I feel so frequently like we should be setting our clocks back to the mid-19th century because this is a know-nothing era in our nation's history. And you know what? Fear was able to defeat hope on the ballot."



Perez has shown a willingness to confront Trump since he became DNC chairman on Saturday.

Trump offered his congratulations to Perez for winning the DNC contest on Twitter, while also trolling him by saying, "I could not be happier for him, or for the Republican Party!"

Perez later shot back with a stern message: "Call me Tom. And don't get too happy. @keithellison and I, and Democrats united across the country, will be your worst nightmare."