Vice President Pence on Friday reassured U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees that their agency was not going anywhere despite calls from some lawmakers to abolish it.
[Related: These Democrats want to abolish ICE]
“The president sent me here today with a very important message. Under President Donald Trump, we will never abolish ICE,” Pence told about 200 employees packed inside a briefing room at ICE headquarters in Washington, D.C. “I stand before you today at a time when some people are actually calling for the abolition of ICE.”
“In this White House, let me be clear, we are with you 100 percent. And as the president said last night, we will always stand proudly with the brave heroes of ICE and our Border Patrol,” he added.
Pence’s visit to ICE headquarters is the latest in the administration’s actions to defend federal law immigration agents following family separations at the border as a result of the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy. Opponents have called for the closing of ICE for its role in border enforcement and deportation operations, and Pence criticized those who have gone further by threatening ICE employees.
“ICE officers and leadership have had their personal information exposed on social media and threats to their families have followed this,” Pence said. “These threats against ICE officers and their families must stop and they must stop now … These spurious attacks on ICE by our political leaders must stop.”
In fiscal year 2017, documented attacks against DHS personnel increased 75 percent and those against ICE’s 20,000 employees tripled.
Pence credited the 15-year-old agency with “playing a critical role” in preventing a terrorist attack since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
He said despite complaints from Democrats, the agency’s work benefited Americans and immigrants by enhancing public safety.
Pence touted a 10 percent budget increase for ICE and said “help is on the way,” though Trump’s January 2017 executive order to hire 10,000 additional ICE personnel has gone unfunded by Congress and unfulfilled.
[Also read: Trump tweets defense of ‘brave heroes of ICE and border patrol’ from Democrats and MS-13]
