Calls to abolish ICE are splintering the Democratic Party

But other Democrats in Congress are not only dismissing the idea, but also suggesting the calls run counter to their party.

“We need border security, OK? I’ve heard there’s some people out there saying we should get rid of ICE. That’s kind of like Republicans saying we should get rid of the IRS,” Washington Rep. Adam Smith, the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, told reporters after last week’s elections. “We need immigration enforcement, though not like this. ICE does not have to do what President Trump is telling them to do.”

A Senate Democratic aide told BuzzFeed News “it’s important that the people who are calling to abolish ICE define what that means,” adding that otherwise it would just be a “reflexive slogan.”