Democrats should thank, not prosecute, ICE agents, ex-director says

The New York attorney general candidate who wants to abolish the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency -- and who warned that she’d prosecute it, if elected -- needs to thank it instead, according to the former acting director of the law enforcement agency.

“I want her to give me one example where an ICE agent violated the law in the state of New York,” Thomas Homan said during an interview with FOX Business’ Neil Cavuto on Saturday.

Zephyr Teachout, a Democrat who will appear on the ballot in the Sept. 13 attorney general primary election, advocated in a video for Now This News for the abolishment of ICE.

“As attorney general, I will continue to speak out against ICE. I will prosecute ICE for their criminal acts,” the Fordham University law professor said. “We have stories of consistent abuse within ICE.”

In recent weeks, there’s been a rise of backlash to the Trump administration’s policy of separating immigrant children from their parents at the Southern border, with a number of prominent Democrats calling to abolish the agency. Although President Trump issued an executive order to end the policy, officials still have some children in their custody, despite already passed reunification deadlines.

Homan lambasted Teachout, saying the agency arrested and removed 5,000 undocumented immigrants in 2017.

“If you commit a crime on citizens of New York, we took to the streets,” he said. “She should be sending ICE a thank-you letter, rather than threatening to prosecute.”