Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.) avoided answering whether he believes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should be abolished, a position that’s grow in popularity among his Democratic colleagues.
Booker said the policies of the President Donald Trump’s administration are the problem, rather than the Department of Homeland Security’s structure under which ICE falls. This puts him somewhat at odds with other potential presidential aspirants in his party, notably Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.).
Asked on Fox 5 New York about those saying ICE should be abolished and Trump calling that idea "crazy," Booker answered by criticizing Trump’s policies on immigration.
"What’s crazy is an administration that has policies even Republicans criticize," Booker said. "Not just separating families, abolishing DACA, and making dreams who only know this country, insecure."
At publishing time, Booker’s office did not return a request for further clarification on whether he would support abolishing ICE.
He was asked about what system should be put in place of ICE but said in his response that the important thing is Trump’s "horrible policies" have to change,
"We need to have a strategy and a plan," Booker said. "I don’t care what you put—ICE, whatever you want to call it—if this administration is running the show, they’re going to be doing things to violate our values."
He concluded by calling for "a comprehensive immigration reform plan" but did not say if that would involve getting rid of ICE.
"We need to have a comprehensive immigration-reform plan," he said. "Forget the different tactical parts of it."
Booker has taken a progressive line on immigration, not only condemning Trump’s policies but even saying he did not agree with former President Barack Obama’s handling of border issues.
"I had a lot of problems with Obama policies on immigration and family detention then," he said on MSNBC two weeks ago. "Reached out to the administration, wrote letters directly to the president, wrote letters to [former Attorney General] Eric Holder that a lot of the things that we were doing even then to me were a violation of our values and our ideals."