President Trump said Thursday that the Democratic push to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will cost them in the 2018 midterm elections.

“The Democrats have a death wish, in more ways than one - they actually want to abolish ICE,” Trump tweeted Thursday. “This should cost them heavily in the Midterms. Yesterday, the Republicans overwhelmingly passed a bill supporting ICE!”



The Democrats have a death wish, in more ways than one - they actually want to abolish ICE. This should cost them heavily in the Midterms. Yesterday, the Republicans overwhelmingly passed a bill supporting ICE! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2018



Several Democratic lawmakers began the campaign to abolish ICE after Trump’s zero tolerance policy on illegal immigration led to an uptick in the number of children who were separated from their families after crossing the southern border.

The first to call on this extreme measure last month was actress and Democratic gubernatorial candidate for New York Cynthia Nixon.

But the party is split on the idea, and Democratic leaders have resisted the call to abolish the agency.

On Wednesday, the House voted overwhelmingly to pass a resolution to back ICE with a vote of 244 to 35, in which133 Democrats voted "present."

[Opinion: For Democrats, 'Abolish ICE' is all bark, zero bite]