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Former Attorney General Eric HolderEric Himpton HolderThe Hill's Morning Report Trump, Putin meet under cloud of Muellers Russia indictments Eric Holder: Calls to abolish ICE are 'a gift to Republicans' The Hill's Morning Report Trump denigrates NATO allies, floats 4 percent solution MORE said Friday that the growing calls from Democrats to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are a "gift" to Republicans.

"I dont think that substantively or politically that makes a great deal of sense," Holder, who served under former President Obama, told host Chuck Todd on MSNBC's "MTP Daily."

In some ways, you're giving the Republicans a gift by saying we're going to have a debate now about whether ICE Should be abolished."

WATCH: @EricHolder says calls to eliminate ICE are "a gift to Republicans" and more focus should be on separated families #MTPDaily pic.twitter.com/YV2RdyNdBq

Holder's comments come as many Democratic lawmakers have voiced opposition to the agency in light of President TrumpDonald John TrumpNFL freezes policy barring players from protesting during anthem McConnell spokesman on Putin visit: 'There is no invitation from Congress' Petition urges University of Virginia not to hire Marc Short MORE's "zero tolerance" immigration policy that led to thousands of migrant families being separated at the southern border.

Earlier this week, a group of Democratic lawmakers introducedlegislation that would eliminate the agency.House Majority LeaderKevin McCarthyKevin Owen McCarthyHouse leaders clash over resolution backing ICE House backs resolution expressing support for ICE House GOP reverses, cancels vote on Dem bill to abolish ICE MORE(R-Calif.) responded byconfirming a timefor a vote on the bill.

Democratic Reps.Mark PocanMark William PocanHouse backs resolution expressing support for ICE House GOP reverses, cancels vote on Dem bill to abolish ICE This week: GOP mulls vote on abolish ICE legislation MORE(Wis.),Pramila JayapalPramila JayapalOvernight Health Care: Novartis pulls back on drug price hikes | House Dems launch Medicare for All caucus | Trump officials pushing ahead on Medicaid work requirements House Dems launching Medicare for All Caucus Sparks fly at hearing on anti-conservative bias in tech MORE(Wash.) andAdriano EspaillatAdriano de Jesus Espaillat CabralNAACP statehood statement leaves Puerto Ricans perplexed House GOP reverses, cancels vote on Dem bill to abolish ICE This week: GOP mulls vote on abolish ICE legislation MORE(N.Y.) accused GOP leadersof attempting to exploit the legislation for political gain, saying they would vote against the measure if it was brought to the House floor.

"We know Speaker Ryan is not serious about passing our 'Establishing a Humane Immigration Enforcement System Act,' so members of Congress, advocacy groups, and impacted communities will not engage in this political stunt,"the Democrats said in a joint statement on Thursday, adding that they welcome an opportunity for a debate about the legislation.

Republicans are hoping to force Democratic lawmakers running in swing districts in the November midterm elections into making a difficult vote on the agency.

Holdertold MSNBC that a debate on ICE moves away the focus from reunifying the thousands of migrant families separated at the border.

"The focus ought to be on what this administration did to those children, Holder said.

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Eric Holder: Calls to abolish ICE are 'a gift to Republicans ...

Former Attorney General Eric Holder says that calls from Democrat lawmakers, candidates, and voters to abolish ICE are gifts for the Republican Party heading into the 2018 midterm elections.

Holder said during an interview with NBC News' Chuck Todd that the "new call" from progressives doesn't "substantively or politically ... make a great deal of sense."

"ICE obviously needs to be reformulated; it needs to be reformed," he continued. "But I think we need to focus on that which is most important, and that's the separation of these kids from their parents."

"ICE played a role in that, but I think in some ways, you're giving Republicans a gift by saying we're going to have a debate now about whether ICE should be abolished."

Holder's comments mirror those of another prominent Obama administration member. Former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson argued in a column last week that the call to abolish ICE is not "a serious policy proposal."

"The outright abolition of ICE would compromise public safety, Johnson wrote. ICE is a law-enforcement agency."

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Eric Holder: Call to abolish ICE is a 'gift' for Republicans

Personal:Birth date: January 21, 1951

Birth place: Bronx, New York

Birth name: Eric Himpton Holder Jr.

Father: Eric Himpton Holder, realtor

Mother: Miriam (Yearwood) Holder

Marriage: Sharon (Malone) Holder (1990-present)

Children: Maya, Brooke and Eric

Education: Columbia College, B.A., 1973; Columbia Law School, J.D., 1976

Other Facts:The first African-American US Attorney General.

Timeline:1976-1988 - Works for the Department of Justice's Public Integrity Section.

1988-1993 - Associate judge for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

1993-1997 - US attorney for the District of Columbia.

1997-2001 - Deputy Attorney General of the United States. He is the first African-American to hold this position.

2001-2008 - Litigation partner with Covington & Burling LLP.

2007-2008 - Senior legal adviser for Obama's presidential campaign.

December 1, 2008 - President-elect Obama nominates Holder to be attorney general of the United States.

February 2, 2009 - Is confirmed by the Senate, 75-21.

October 12, 2011 - The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee issues a subpoena for communications from Holder and other Justice Department officials relating to Operation Fast and Furious.

December 2, 2011 - About 1,400 pages of internal documents on Operation Fast and Furious are released by the Justice Department.

June 20, 2012 - President Obama asserts executive privilege over some of the documents sought by the committee investigating Operation Fast and Furious.

June 20, 2012 - The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee recommends that Holder be cited for contempt of Congress for failing to turn over all of the documents relating to the Fast and Furious operation.

June 29, 2012 - The White House announces that Holder will not face criminal prosecution under the contempt of Congress citation. President Obama's assertion of executive privilege in the case prevents a criminal prosecution.

August 13, 2012 - The House Oversight Committee files a civil contempt lawsuit against Holder, seeking the release of Operation Fast and Furious documents.

February 27, 2014 - Holder is hospitalized after experiencing faintness and shortness of breath.

July 2015 - Holder re-joins the law firm of Covington and Burling, LLP.

October 17, 2016 - It is announced by Politico that Holder will chair the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. The new group will focus on redistricting reform.

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Eric Holder Fast Facts - CNN

Former Attorney General Eric HolderEric Himpton HolderEric Holder: Trump administration has 'brought shame to the nation with family separations US law is not on the side of Mueller's appointment as special counsel Holder redistricting group backs lawsuits for 3 additional majority-black congressional districts MORE tore into the Trump administration late Tuesday for its zero-tolerance immigration policy, which is separating migrant parents and children.

Trump Administration is detaining babies and toddlers in 'tender age shelters' who may never be reunited with their parents, Holder tweeted with asketch of President Lincoln holding his head in his hands.

Babies. Babies. You have brought shame to the nation. We are better than this, he added.

Trump Administration is detaining babies and toddlers in tender age shelters who may never be reunited with their parents. Babies. Babies. You have brought shame to the nation. We are better than this. pic.twitter.com/QM2C3uHvVg

President TrumpDonald John TrumpFamily immigration detention centers could be at capacity within days: report Trump likely to meet with Putin in July: report DOJ requests military lawyers to help prosecute immigration crimes: report MORE has tried to blame the previous administration for the policy, something Holder blasted as nonsense last month.

Attorney General Jeff SessionsJefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsDOJ requests military lawyers to help prosecute immigration crimes: report Trump backs down in rare reversal Senate moving ahead with border bill, despite Trump MORE implemented a "zero-tolerance" policy for illegal U.S.-Mexico border crossings earlier this year.

The policy has led to parents being separated from their children during criminal prosecutions.

TheAssociated Press reported late Tuesday that the Trump administration is operating three "tender age" shelters for undocumented babies and toddlers.

Trump has continually blamed Democrats for his administrations policy of separating migrant families.

"Democrats are the problem. They dont care about crime and want illegal immigrants, no matter how bad they may be, to pour into and infest our Country, like MS-13, Trump wrote in a tweet Tuesday. They cant win on their terrible policies, so they view them as potential voters!

Democrats are the problem. They dont care about crime and want illegal immigrants, no matter how bad they may be, to pour into and infest our Country, like MS-13. They cant win on their terrible policies, so they view them as potential voters!

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Eric Holder: Trump administration has 'brought shame to ...

Former Attorney General Eric Holder could have your state in his crosshairs in 2018as he leads a campaign with the potential to paint the map blue for the next decade.

Democrats have played catchup in state legislative races since the Republican wave eight years ago. And they are well aware that how states draw maps, based on the 2020 Census, could determine which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives and most state legislatures for years to come.

Enter Holder and the group he chairs, the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.

The organization is focused on overhauling those maps and fighting the gerrymandering that in some cases favors Republicans.The goal is to back state Democratic candidates who could have a say in drawing new districts after 2020. Holder, while also mulling a 2020 presidential run, is now targeting adozen statesfour of which are expected to gain at least one congressional seat after the Census. Former President Barack Obama, Holders old boss, has also lent his name to the effort.

In many states, governors and state senators elected to four-year terms will still be in office when new maps are drawn in 2021, NDRC spokesmanPatrick Rodenbush told Fox News. That makes this a crucial year for redistricting.

'In many states, governors and state senators elected to four-year terms will still be in office when new maps are drawn in 2021. That makes this a crucial year for redistricting.'

The organization, which The Wall Street Journalreportedwill spend $35 million on campaigns and litigation in 2018, claims the system is rigged in favor of Republicans because of gerrymandering.

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee is spending another $35 million for 2018; and Forward Majority, a Democratic super PAC, plans to spend more than $20 million on state legislative ads, the Journal reported.

Despite acontroversial tenureas attorney general, Holder is considering a presidential run in 2020 and visited the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire last week. While there, he kept the door open to a White House run, but tried to focus his remarks on his redistricting mission. Politicians are picking their voters as opposed to citizens choosing who their representatives are going to be, he complained.

HOLDER TALKS 2020 SHOWDOWN WITH TRUMP

So where is Holder waging this battle?

The group is particularly active in Texas, which isexpected to gain up to three U.S. House seats after the 2020 Census,targeting gubernatorial and state legislative races there.

Holders group is also eyeing the always-crucial battleground of Florida, which it anticipates will gain two congressional seats after 2020; Colorado, which the group identifies as likely to gain one congressional seat after the Census; and Georgia, a state Democrats tried unsuccessfully to flip in the 2016 presidential race.

Holder last month cheered the Democratic gubernatorial primary victory in Georgia by Stacey Abrams, issuing a statement saying, If elected, she has pledged to continue her fight for voting rights, including by vetoing gerrymandered districts when new lines are drawn in 2021.

Holders organization is also interested in gubernatorial and legislative races in Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Two other states on the target listNorth Carolina and Virginiaare only holding legislative races in 2018.

Ohio became the latest state to approve a bipartisan commission to decide congressional and legislative districts after a referendum on which Holders group spent $50,000.

The redistricting reform passed in Ohio makes it much harder for politicians to rig elections through gerrymandering and gives me hope that we can restore fairness to our elections in states around the country, Holder said in a statement last month. This fall, Ohioans have the opportunity to support strong Democratic candidates who will have a seat at the table when new state and congressional lines are drawn in 2021.

In another targeted state, Holders groupsuedWisconsin Gov. Scott Walker after he declined to call a special election to fill two open legislative seats.

The stakes for these seemingly granular battles are huge.

During the Obama years, the GOP flipped 958 state legislative seats. Before 2010, Democrats controlled 60 of the 99 legislative chambers across the country. Now, its just 32.

Republicans flipped many legislatures in states with maps approved by Democratic lawmakers, noted Matt Walter, president of the Republican State Leadership Committee. So, he argues, gerrymandering is no excuse for Democratic losses.

We understand that voters are different from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon, while the progressive mindset is one of top-down policies, Walter told Fox News.

Holder wants favorable Democratic districts while arguing a false holier-than-thou principle of do as I say, not as I do, Walter added. Its shallow and crass and has nothing to do with good government at all.

Rodenbush, the NDRC spokesman,referenceda Holder speech in March to affirm the group isnt just seeking Democratic gerrymandering to replace GOP gerrymandering. During that Georgetown University address, the former attorney general saidRepublicans arent simply going to give up power, adding, You give me a fair fight; Ill have a Democratic Congress.

State legislatures in 42 states decide on congressional districts. Of those, 37 also pick state legislative districts. The remaining states have some form of commission, which Holder desires.

Gerrymandering is a more democratic process than naming a bureaucratic commission to draw maps, argued J. Christian Adams, a former Justice Department voting section lawyer and Holder critic.

Gerrymandering is a good thing because it means the people who won elections are supporting the will of the people in drawing district lines, Adams, now president of the conservative Public Interest Legal Foundation that specializes in election law and voter fraud cases, told Fox News.

The term gerrymandering comes from former Massachusetts Gov.Eldridge Gerry, who in 1812 signed a redistricting bill that favored his Democratic-Republican party over the Federalist party in the state. Because one of the districts looked like a salamander, partisan maps became known as gerrymandering.

Fred Lucas is the White House correspondent for the Daily Signal. Follow him on twitter @FredLucasWH

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