Trump warns that without ICE, Americans would ‘be afraid to walk out’ of their homes

President Trump has warned that getting rid of ICE, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, will result in people being “afraid to walk out of [their] house.”

He made the comment in an interview with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo while responding to a call by some Democrats to eliminate the federal agency.

Trump said of the Democrats and future elections, “Well I hope they keep thinking about it, because they’re going to get beaten so badly.”

“You know ICE, these are the guys that go in and take MS-13, and they take them out. Because they’re much tougher than MS-13, like by a factor of 10. And these are the ones — you get rid of ICE, you’re going to have a country that you’re going to be afraid to walk out of your house,” Trump added. “I love that issue if they’re going to actually do that.”

RELATED: A look inside the operations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement

The president’s remarks were made after some Democrats started recommending abolishing or overhauling the agency amid the controversy of undocumented children being separated from their parents at the border.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York recently told CNN about ICE: “It has become a deportation force, and I think you should separate the criminal justice from the immigration issues. We believe that we should protect families who need our help, and that is not what ICE is doing today, and that’s why I believe you should get rid of it, start over, reimagine it and build something that actually works.”

And California Senator Kamala Harris has said: “I think there’s no question that we’ve got to critically re-examine ICE and its role and the way that it is being administered and the work it is doing.”

However, Trump has been vocal about his opposition to any such plan.

“The Democrats are making a strong push to abolish ICE, one of the smartest, toughest and most spirited law enforcement groups of men and women that I have ever seen. I have watched ICE liberate towns from the grasp of MS-13 & clean out the toughest of situations. They are great!” he tweeted Saturday.