Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on Sunday downplayed calls from his Democratic colleagues to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“Abolishing ICE will accomplish nothing unless we change the Trump policies,” Blumenthal said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

A growing number of Democratic lawmakers, including potential 2020 presidential candidates Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand Kirsten GillibrandSunday shows preview: Justice Ginsburg dies, sparking partisan battle over vacancy before election Suburban moms are going to decide the 2020 election Jon Stewart urges Congress to help veterans exposed to burn pits MORE (N.Y.) and Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth WarrenDimon: Wealth tax 'almost impossible to do' CNN's Don Lemon: 'Blow up the entire system' remark taken out of context Democrats shoot down talk of expanding Supreme Court MORE (Mass.) have come out in support of eliminating ICE and starting from scratch with a new agency.

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Blumenthal on Sunday said the Trump administration’s policies are the root cause of inhumane treatment of migrants, and must be addressed first.

“I visited the border about a week ago. I saw the brutality and inhumanity and absolute cruelty of these policies,” he said.

“There is no plan or path to reunify [migrant families],” he continued. “It is not happening and the Trump administration is embarked on a train wreck — a moral train wreck, a legal train wreck and a humanitarian train wreck.”

.@SenBlumenthal: Abolishing ICE will accomplish nothing unless we change the Trump policies pic.twitter.com/ASBfYUr3TX — Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) July 1, 2018

ICE has played a central role in the Trump administration's efforts to crack down on illegal immigration. It has faced growing backlash following the administration's "zero tolerance" policy, which led to the separation of migrant families at the border.

The agency has been the target of protests in recent weeks near agency facilities in New York, Washington, D.C., and Portland, Ore.

President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE has fiercely defended the agency, claiming protesters want "anarchy" and are endangering ICE agents.

He slammed Democrats calling for the abolition of ICE on Saturday, saying he thinks the issue would hurt them in the midterms.