The three major Democratic candidates vying to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin clashed Monday night over who would be the strongest opponent to President Donald Trump and his aggressive deportation enforcement operations, each vowing to varying degrees to end the current tactics of his federal immigration agents.

The hourlong debate, held with 50 days remaining until the March 17 primary, found Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton to be the clear aggressor among the three, seeking to stake out the most progressive lane by attacking rival congressional members Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg and Robin Kelly of Lynwood for being “status quo” Washington Democrats.

At one point, Krishnamoorthi, responding to Stratton’s attacks, jokingly told the audience at the University of Chicago’s International House, “I should have brought some body armor here.”

Stratton was the lone contender to call for the abolishment of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in the wake of the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota by immigration enforcement agents there. Krishnamoorthi called for an end to “Trump’s ICE,” no additional funding for immigration enforcement operations and an inspector general to investigate the agency. In Congress, Kelly has filed articles of impeachment against Kristi Noem, secretary of Homeland Security, which is over ICE and Border Patrol.

“I want to abolish ICE because this agency cannot be reformed,” said Stratton, the two-term running mate of Gov. JB Pritzker. “We are looking at what’s happening and it doesn’t matter whose ICE it is. ICE needs to be abolished and we need to move this country forward and make sure our communities are safe.”

The issue of whether to abolish ICE has become a new dividing line between Democratic progressives and moderates. Moderates fear that calls for the outright abolition are akin to past progressive calls to “defund the police,” which cost the party support at the ballot box in previous elections.

Krishnamoorthi said that, unlike his primary rivals, he had already “done the hard work of trying to hold ICE accountable” by getting rejected on one visit to Homeland Security’s Broadview detention facility, later being allowed to make an inspection of it, and saying he learned there that “they not only target people with (criminal) convictions, they go after people who are merely charged and who are collaterally present. That means innocent citizens.”

Kelly said she wants to see ICE dismantled. That, along with her attempt to impeach Noem, an unlikely prospect in the GOP-controlled House, would “build an agency that people can trust.”

“The Department of Homeland Security is too big, too unwieldy and not accountable and we need to do all this in the guise of immigration reform,” Kelly said. “They’re not going after the murderers and rapists that they said that they were (going after). It’s a total embarrassment. And we do have to stop Kristi Noem’s reign of terror through all of our cities.”

After the debate, Krishnamoorthi told reporters that his call to “abolish Trump’s ICE” aligns with the stance of Pritzker, who has endorsed Stratton.

Krishnamoorthi said ICE does have important functions apart from the current high-profile immigration crackdown, including combating human trafficking and drug smuggling. And, he said, some of the most aggressive immigration enforcement tactics, including Saturday’s fatal shooting in Minneapolis, have come from Border Patrol agents rather than ICE personnel.

Stratton, however, pointed to Border Patrol in response to a post-debate question about who would take on immigration enforcement responsibilities if ICE were eliminated.

“There is Border Patrol and … we, of course, need secure borders,” Stratton said. “But look at what ICE is doing right now. I mean, we have people who have now been murdered by ICE, and it is dangerous, and all of us are at risk.”

Stratton during the debate also questioned Krishnamoorthi’s credibility on the issue of reforming immigration enforcement, citing his acceptance of campaign funding from a Homeland Security contractor, a demonstration that fundraising was a higher personal priority. Krishnamoorthi said that after learning he had received the funds, he contributed them to immigration relief organizations.

But as Stratton touted that her campaign was the only major contender not to accept corporate political action committee donations, both Krishanmoorthi and Kelly pushed back.

“I take corporate PAC money, but check the record. Check how I vote. I vote like the people who put me in office want me to vote,” Kelly said, noting that a current TV ad backing Stratton is being paid for by a “dark money” PAC and “we don’t know who’s behind those commercials.”

Krishnamoorthi accused Stratton of “hypocrisy” on the PAC contribution issue. When Stratton also accused him of voting for a House resolution that offered “thanks” to ICE, he said “99% of that resolution was about condemning antisemitism following an attack on 14 Jews in Boulder, Colorado.”

“I’m going to condemn antisemitism eight days out of the week,” he said, “and that was one that the Jewish community especially wanted me to vote for.”

Krishnamoorthi said he could support lengthening the current two-year term for House members and possibly adding term limits and age limits to members of both chambers. But Stratton said serving is “about whether you get things done for people, not an actual numerical, not a number.” She then went on to contend that Krishnamoorthi had passed only four bills into law during his five terms in the House, each to rename a post office.

But Krishnamoorthi said he also had sponsored provisions for such items as increased mental health funding and a modernization of skills-based education among “76 other bills signed into law.”

“I think what people need is the truth, lieutenant governor,” Krishnamoorthi said.

The debate was held at the University of Chicago’s International House and hosted by the school’s Institute of Politics along with the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ-FM 91.5. Another debate among the three, the first on broadcast TV, will take place Thursday at 7 p.m., hosted by ABC-7, Univision and the League of Women Voters of Illinois.

Ahead of Monday’s event, the PAC aligned with Stratton began running a half-minute digital ad on social media sites to drive her message of opposing ICE.

“Stratton has made clear ICE must be abolished, not reformed, not retrained, abolished,” a narrator says in the Illinois Future PAC ad. “Every candidate on the debate stage knows what ICE is doing to our state and our country. Juliana Stratton will do what it takes to stop it. And that’s the difference.”

Krishnamoorthi, whose vast fundraising lead over his rivals has helped him secure almost unchallenged access to the TV airwaves, also unveiled a new broadcast ad featuring ICE just prior to the debate.

“Donald Trump has weaponized ICE against our cities and our people. Torn apart families …terrorized neighborhoods. We should abolish Trump’s ICE,” Krishnamoorthi says in the ad. “We can’t have a government or ICE running out of control. It’s morally wrong, and it’s unlawful.”

Earlier in the day, Stratton also moved to demonstrate support from the Latino community, announcing the endorsement of retiring U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García and several state lawmakers. Also endorsing Stratton was Patty García, whom Jesús García controversially maneuvered to succeed him in the Democratic primary for the 4th Congressional District.

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