commander-in-tweets

Trump says there's 'zero chance' of abolishing ICE: 'It will never happen!'

June 30, 2018

.polaris__post-meta--date { display: none; } .polaris__post-meta--date.no-script { display: block; padding-left: 45px } June 30, 2018

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

President Trump on Twitter Saturday slammed proposals to shut down Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE):

The 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. I have watched ICE liberate towns from the grasp of MS-13 & clean out the toughest of situations. They are great!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 30, 2018

ICE was created just 15 years ago to ramp up enforcement duties previously handled by the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Customs Service. The agency's increasingly aggressive enforcement tactics have drawn broad criticism. "Even the cops don't like us anymore, because they're listening to the news also," one ICE agent recently told the Los Angeles Times. "'Oh you guys are just separating families.'"

The New York Times reported Thursday that 19 ICE agents sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen asking her to dissolve their agency. Recommendations for what to do after abolishing ICE vary.