ICE suspends most vehicle stops after deadly shootings in Maine, Texas: Report | Today’s news
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to halt most traffic stops after an ICE agent fatally shot a man in Biddeford, Maine on Monday (July 13), CNN reported, citing officials familiar with the development. The incident follows another incident in which an ICE agent fatally shot a Mexican immigrant during a traffic stop in Houston.
What led to the ICE policy change
A directive issued to officials with Enforcement and Removal Operations, the branch of ICE responsible for locating, arresting and deporting illegal immigrants, halts vehicle stops until further notice. Officers have been instructed to rely on alternative methods for routine immigration enforcement and to work with partner law enforcement agencies whenever a criminal warrant requires a vehicle stop.
Read also | ICE agent fatally shoots man during immigration operation in Maine
The CNN report said the pause is intended to be temporary, allowing enforcement and enforcement officers to receive additional training on vehicle stop procedures. In the meantime, officers can still participate in stops involving partner agencies pursuing warrant-related crime suspects.
Vehicle stops have become one of the Trump administration’s most reliable tools, allowing agents to identify, track and detain individuals outside of their homes or workplaces.
The Biddeford shooting that sparked the review
The immediate catalyst was Monday’s shooting in Biddeford, Maine, where an Enforcement and Removal Operations officer fatally shot a man during what the Department of Homeland Security described as an attempt to detain someone connected to an immigration case.
According to the department, agents encountered the man while “conducting targeted surveillance at the last known address of an illegal alien with a final order of removal.” The department said that as the man “attempted to flee the scene” in his vehicle, the officer opened fire “out of concern for public safety.”
The man was later identified by a neighbor and the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition as 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a Colombian national. The coalition said Guerrero was authorized to work in the U.S. and possessed a Social Security number, though federal officials have not confirmed those details. Federal officials said the man was in the country illegally.
Read also | ICE Agent fatally shoots and kills man in Houston during enforcement operation
Onlookers described the immediate aftermath in harrowing terms. Mary Hayes, who lives near the intersection where the shooting happened, told the AP she watched the man’s wife react to the scene. “I saw a wife drop to her knees looking at her husband’s dead body on the ground,” Hayes said, later adding, “I watched a little girl crying with a little pink backpack because she would never see her father again.”
The Colombian embassy said in a statement that it “regrets the death of a Colombian national in Biddeford, Maine, and is providing the necessary consular assistance to his family,” adding that it “has requested information and clarification from the Department of Homeland Security regarding the circumstances of this unfortunate death and will continue to closely monitor the case as the investigation continues.”
Echoes of the Houston shooting last week
Monday’s killing closely mirrors an incident six days ago in Houston, Texas, where an ICE officer fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national, during a separate vehicle stop. The Department of Homeland Security initially said officers targeted Salgado Araujo because he was living in the country illegally, claiming he ignored “multiple verbal commands” and tried to ram the officer, who then fired in what the department described as self-defense.
Read also | Detainees at Florida’s Alligator Alcatraz have been transferred elsewhere, ICE says
Salgado Araujo’s family said he had no criminal record and was close to getting a work permit after living in the U.S. for more than three decades without legal status. His brother Victor said it took 20 to 30 minutes for an ambulance to arrive at the scene, according to his lawyer.
Monday’s shooting is at least the 11th fatal shooting involving an ICE or Border Patrol agent since President Trump took office last year, according to Maine lawmakers.
The FBI, along with Maine State Police and the Attorney General’s Office, are continuing to investigate the Biddeford shooting.
