President Trump slammed calls from Democrats to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Wednesday and told Americans that he wants to “abolish” the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
In a video message released on his Twitter feed, the president attacked calls from progressive Democrats to abolish the controversial federal agency amid ICE’s role in the administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy.
“Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats want to abolish the brave men and women of ICE,” Trump says in the 15-second video. “What I want to do is abolish the killers in ISIS. And you know who’s going to win? We are.”
Pelosi (D-Calif.), the House minority leader, has not endorsed the growing movement calling for an end to the 15-year-old agency, but issued a statement earlier this year calling for “an immediate and fundamental overhaul” of ICE.
Other prominent Democrats, including Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), have joined the “abolish ICE” effort.
{mosads}Trump’s video message comes just days after he called for state and local officials to show their support for ICE and its agents amid Democratic calls for the agency’s reform or removal.
“Through letters, public statements, op-eds, resolutions, and events, we can give our voice to our Nation’s longstanding tradition of honoring the public servants who protect our communities and our way of life,” Trump wrote in a letter from the White House on Monday.
Trump and other Republicans have attacked calls to abolish the agency as an effort by left-leaning Democrats to eliminate U.S. borders entirely. Protesters have targeted ICE officials and facilities since the administration began separating migrant children from their families earlier this year under a policy in which the administration immediately detained for prosecution people caught illegally crossing the border.
The family separation policy is no longer in place.