Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) on Sunday called for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be abolished, citing the controversy over the detention of immigrant children on the U.S. southern border.

"We should abolish ICE and start over, focusing on our priorities to protect our families and our borders in a humane and thoughtful fashion," Blumenauer wrote in a Medium post.

"Now is the time for immigration reform that ensures people are treated with compassion and respect. Not only because it is the moral thing to do, but it’s better policy and will cost less," he continued.

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Blumenauer has long been a critic of the agency and voted against its formation in 2002.

The congressman's comments followed 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's call on Sunday for immigrants who illegally enter the U.S. to be sent “back from where they came” without going through the judicial process in deportation cases.

The Trump administration has faced backlash for its "zero tolerance" policy at the border, which has resulted in the separation of migrant families detained after attempting to cross into the U.S.

The president signed an executive order this week to end the policy, calling on the Department of Homeland Security to keep families together while people await trial for illegal border crossing.

Blumenauer ripped the handling of the detention of children in his post.

"One of the most depressing things about this recent scandal is that we have a federal government that cannot keep track of the children it detains," he wrote.

"Amazon and the United States Postal Service can give you real-time information about the location of your packages, but the federal government cannot account for 2,300 children in their custody? This is a failure of epic proportions."