WASHINGTON

US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has strayed from its law enforcement mission, accusing it of creating fear and chaos in communities across the country.

"For months, Americans have watched in horror as ICE agents have stopped acting like law enforcement and started terrorizing communities across the country," Schumer said on the Senate floor.

Schumer argued that public sentiment is shifting and that President Donald Trump is beginning to recognize growing opposition to ICE’s actions.

"It's not an immigration issue, it's a public safety issue, and the Republicans are on the wrong side of public safety right now," he said.

Democrats in both chambers are unified on the need for reform, Schumer said.

"Democrats in the House and Senate are on the same exact page about what needs to be done to rein in ICE and end the violence," he said.

The New York Democrat went on to accuse ICE of acting with impunity, saying, “Americans don’t support the kind of abuses ICE is committing across communities.”

“ICE’s behavior is not law enforcement, it’s thuggery. It puts people in danger.”

Schumer called for bipartisan cooperation to pass what he described as “real, meaningful, common-sense legislation,” urging Republicans to work with Democrats to curb ICE’s actions.

On Wednesday, Trump told NBC News that he believes his administration could use “a softer touch” in its immigration enforcement operations after federal agents killed two Americans in the state of Minnesota last month.

Trump also said he personally ordered the withdrawal of 700 federal agents involved in the contentious immigration crackdown in the state.