As the number of Democrats calling for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) grows steadily, the law enforcement agency isn’t taking the threat without a fight.
Taking advantage of its social media reach, ICE spent the day on Monday tweeting stories and photos of past accomplishments, painting a clear picture of exactly what critics were ready to abolish. (RELATED: ‘Zero Chance’ — Trump Hits Back At Calls To Abolish ICE)
The fight to end human smuggling and trafficking.
#DYK? ICE serves as the leading US law enforcement agency responsible for the fight against human smuggling https://t.co/VQWnXb90aC pic.twitter.com/AUOpqrhwYU
— ICE (@ICEgov) July 2, 2018
Standing up against female genital mutilation.
#ICYMI: ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) focuses on educating people, at the world’s busiest airport, about the serious penalties under U.S. law for engaging in the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) https://t.co/5be7DZG5cr #EndFGM pic.twitter.com/3dnQKd4knn
— ICE (@ICEgov) July 2, 2018
Tracking down people trafficking in child pornography.
#ICYMI: ICE HSI investigation of child pornography results in sentence of 105 years in federal prison for Nashville man https://t.co/AkyX2qVNh8 pic.twitter.com/id4T8B99z2
— ICE (@ICEgov) July 2, 2018
Taking illegal immigrant sex offenders off the street.
#ICYMI: ICE ERO arrests 32 sex offenders in Long Island during Operation SOAR https://t.co/Xb8OKMQyMH pic.twitter.com/1nQS1KPOak
— ICE (@ICEgov) July 2, 2018
Preserving cultures and art by fighting back against the trafficking of priceless artifacts.
#DYK? ICE has a leading role in investigating crimes involving the illegal import and distribution of cultural property and art? https://t.co/sexggyyOwF pic.twitter.com/KABvl08DvT
— ICE (@ICEgov) July 2, 2018
Confiscating illegal weapons that are trafficked across the border and used by drug cartels.
#ICYMI: South Texas HIDTA Task Force members seize a cache of assault weapons and armament https://t.co/9bF3Fiim8J pic.twitter.com/8ANT9Eh0mJ
— ICE (@ICEgov) June 29, 2018
Stopping the black market sales of drugs and weapons.
#ICYMI: ICE HSI New York operation leads to arrests of 3 dozen Darknet vendors selling illicit goods & weapons, and seizure of drugs and $23.6 million https://t.co/1KB4lHTNB5 pic.twitter.com/VQPFjQmuT8
— ICE (@ICEgov) July 2, 2018
Providing humanitarian relief efforts after natural disasters.
#DYK? ICE joined rescue and response efforts for the 3 major hurricanes of 2017: Irma, Harvey, and Maria https://t.co/D7Rb9b9W8F pic.twitter.com/HLRXkOFT5U
— ICE (@ICEgov) July 2, 2018
Shutting down drug-trafficking operations.
ICE investigation shuts down multistate drug trafficking organization with assistance from @FBI, @CBP, state and local partners https://t.co/eFGvOlwXbB pic.twitter.com/rYBdlD42QQ
— ICE (@ICEgov) July 2, 2018
Working on the front lines of the nation’s opioid crisis.
ICE has taken an active role to combat the #opioid crisis. In 2017, HSI seized nearly 2,400 lbs of fentanyl. Investigating, disrupting & dismantling transnational criminal orgs that illegally bring dangerous opioids into the US is 1 of ICE’s top missions https://t.co/mx5NstBGon pic.twitter.com/y0SRF5BQqV
— ICE (@ICEgov) July 2, 2018
So far, the Democrats who have called for abolishing the agency are Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) and Elizabeth Warren (MA) and Representatives Mark Pocan (WI), Pramila Jayapal (WA), Earl Blumenauer (OR), Jim McGovern (MA), Nydia Velasquez (NY), Raul Grijalva (AZ), Mike Capuano (MA) and Adriano Espaillat (NY). New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has also called for an end of ICE, as has New York congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. California Senator Kamala Harris has called for the organization to undergo a reevaluation, but has not ruled out “starting from scratch.”