Abolish ICE? Trump defends agency as campaign picks up speed

The White House is stepping up its defense of immigration and customs enforcement, the agency known as the ICE, amid growing appeals by some Democrats for the government to take action. agency be abolished.

"Just when you thought the Democrats could not go further left, the main members of the Democratic Party, including the candidates for high office, openly advocate the abolition of ICE, An agency that protects the American people.President Mike Pence said during a trip to the headquarters of the ICE on Friday.

Citing calls for the abolition of the I & # 39; ICE of Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Pence says "The American people are entitled to their opinions, but these false ICE attacks by our political leaders must stop "

Pence said the calls for the abolition of ICE were" irresponsible "and stated that the Trump administration was" 100% "with the agency.

Immigration was already on the cusp of being a key issue for this year's midterm elections, but ICE was placed at the center of this debate. The Trump administration is criticized for its "zero tolerance" immigration policy. the border. A Reuters / Ipsos poll released this week revealed that immigration was the main concern for voters before mid-term.

In addition to Warren, Gillibrand and Blasio, several Democratic members of the House also called for the ICE to be abolished.

Meanwhile, emerging Democratic superstar Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who won a shocking victory at the Democratic Party's congressional primary in New York in June, is also among those who have called for the abolition from the agency. Pence also criticized New York governor candidate Cynthia Nixon, who made the abolition of the agency a centerpiece of her Democratic primary campaign against Governor Andrew Cuomo.

"The mere existence of ICE makes many New Yorkers live in daily fear of losing their families," Nixon said in a statement. "I can think of no better description than calling ICE a terrorist organization, and I will bring any criticism of Mike Pence as a badge of honor." Some commentators, such as Tucker Carlson, the host of Fox News, have suggested that the shocking victory of Ocasio-Cortez pushes the establishment democrats further left on the issue, likely leading to more trouble. 39, other party members calling for the abolition of the ICE. near future.

Like Pence, the rest of the Trump administration takes a fervent pro-ICE stance – especially President Donald Trump.

"We do not give up on ICE and we do not give up on our law enforcement," Trump said at a dinner in West Virginia on Tuesday.

The Trump administration claimed that getting rid of ICE would result in a drastic increase in illegal immigration and, in turn, crime.

But critics argue that the ICE is a draconian entity and point to the fact that it is still a fairly young organization (it was created in 2003 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks) claiming that its elimination would not radically change things.

Moreover, research shows that the frequent badociation of the Trump administration between immigration and crime is hyperbolic. Immigration populations in the United States have increased in recent decades, while the national rate of violent crime has declined significantly since 1980, for example.