ST. PAUL, Minn. ― Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT.), while campaigning at the Minnesota State Fair on Saturday, suggested he would not abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The 2020 Democratic presidential candidate said he would get rid of ICE raids but declined to say that he would scrap the agency altogether during a live-taping of an interview with MPR News, which hundreds of fairgoers had gathered to watch.

Asked if he agreed with a woman in the crowd who shouted “abolish ICE” during the audience Q&A portion of the interview, Sanders told MPR News host Tom Crann that he would abolish “the current disastrous immigration system.”

“ICE is one small part of that system,” Sanders said. “We have to develop a system. But I will say this: We will abolish the ICE raids, which are terrorizing communities all over this country.”

Crann continued to press the Vermont senator, asking if he sees “a valid purpose for an agency in the federal government like ICE.”

“The first question you asked, do I believe in open borders? No, I do not,” Sanders responded. “So you need to have protection of our borders and you need people to do that.”