ICE told to halt most vehicle stops after pair of fatal shootings in Maine and Texas

ICE Directs Agents to Pause Most Vehicle Stops After Shootings in Maine and Texas

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has directed agents to suspend most vehicle stops across the country following two fatal shootings during enforcement operations in Texas and Maine. The directive applies except in cases involving serious criminal targets, according to multiple US media outlets citing law enforcement sources.

The change represents an operational adjustment for the agency amid ongoing reviews of use-of-force incidents. White House border adviser Tom Homan described the measure as a temporary pause rather than a permanent policy shift and stated that deportation operations would continue. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson declined to discuss specific tactics, noting only that procedures are regularly evaluated to protect officers and remove individuals with criminal records.

Homan told Fox News that agents receive extensive training on vehicle stops and that each encounter allows limited time for decisions. He indicated the pause would enable a short-term internal review. President Donald Trump posted on social media that traffic stops remain an important enforcement tool and that abandoning them would benefit individuals targeted by operations.

Senator Dick Durbin, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, stated on the BBC News Channel that he attributed recent incidents to internal arrest and deportation targets at the agency. He said agents were not consistently applying standard policing practices and that adjustments alone would not address the issue. Durbin described the operations as creating widespread concern among communities.

In the Maine incident, an ICE agent shot and killed a 26-year-old Colombian national during an enforcement action in Biddeford, about 24 km south of Portland. The Department of Homeland Security reported that the agent fired after the man attempted to drive away from the scene and after agents had tried to stop the vehicle, citing concern for public safety. The department did not detail the specific threat. Immigration advocacy organizations stated the individual held work authorization and a Social Security number. Local officials and residents identified him as Joan Sebastian Guerrero. Groups including the Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition and Presente! Maine issued a statement describing the death as unacceptable.

In the Texas incident, agents in Houston stopped a white van at approximately 07:00 local time because an occupant resembled the target of an operation. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican national who had lived in the United States for decades, was shot and killed. The Department of Homeland Security stated the officer fired in self-defense and that Araujo was not the intended target. Passengers in the van and Araujo’s family have disputed the department’s account of events. The agency’s internal watchdog has opened an investigation.

Both shootings prompted local protests. Earlier demonstrations occurred in Minneapolis after two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were fatally shot in separate encounters with ICE agents in January. In March, President Trump appointed Markwayne Mullin as homeland security secretary, replacing Kristi Noem, and later replaced former Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino. The administration began expanded deportation operations after Trump’s return to office.

An additional incident occurred early Tuesday when a person fleeing immigration agents in St. Augustine, Florida, was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The Department of Homeland Security has not released further details on that event.

The agency has conducted vehicle stops as part of routine immigration enforcement for years. Agents are trained to assess immediate threats during such encounters, and policies require documentation of the basis for each stop. The current directive limits these stops to cases involving individuals with serious criminal records while the review proceeds. Homan emphasized that the pause is expected to be brief.