Trump: Abolishing ICE won’t happen

Responding to prominent Democrats calling for changes to immigration, some seeking the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, President Donald Trump said on Twitter on Saturday that it will “never happen!”

Trump tweeted Saturday morning from New Jersey that Democrats “are making a strong push to abolish ICE, one of the smartest, toughest and most spirited law enforcement groups of men and women that I have ever seen.” He noted the agency’s work to counter MS-13 gang members.

He urged ICE agents to “not worry or lose your spirit,” adding: “The radical left Dems want you out. Next it will be all police. Zero chance, It will never happen!”

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York recently said ICE has “become a deportation force.” And

Sen. Kamala Harris of California has said the government “maybe” or “probably” should “start from scratch” on an immigration enforcement agency.

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who sought the Democratic nomination in 2016 and is mulling another run, has stopped short of his colleagues’ calls to dismantle ICE. But he has also been quick to note his vote opposing the 2002 law that paved the way for ICE to replace the old Immigration and Naturalization Service after

9/11

Trump seems to relish the prospect of Demo- crats making the abolishment of ICE a campaign issue. “Well I hope they keep thinking about it. Because they’re going to get beaten so badly,” he said in an interview with Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo,” according to an excerpt released Saturday. He added: “Get rid of ICE, you’re going to have a country that you’re going to be afraid to walk out of your house. I love that issue if they’re going to actually do that.”

It’s not just Democrats targeting ICE: At least 19 of the agency’s investigators are seeking to dissolve it, concerned that the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented migrants has limited their ability to pursue national security threats, child pornography and transnational crime.

In a letter sent last week to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, the special agents proposed creating a stand-alone investigations unit and another agency to handle immigration detention and deportation.

Investigations “have been perceived as targeting undocumented aliens, instead of the transnational criminal organizations that facilitate cross border crimes impacting our communities and national security,” wrote the agents from Homeland Security Investigations, which is a branch of ICE. The Texas Observer first reported the letter.

The investigators said local law enforcement officials have questioned the independence of their agency, given the Trump administration’s aggressive policies against illegal immigration — including arresting undocumented workers for minor offenses, such as driving without a license.

A senior ICE official said there were “operational challenges raised in that letter that merit some discussion.”

Drew Angerer / Getty Images Activists rally against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Trump administration’s immigration policies outside of the ICE offices in Federal Plaza in New York City on Friday.