ICE Tells Agents to Temporarily Suspend Routine Vehicle Stops After Back-to-Back Fatal Shootings

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has instructed agents across the country to temporarily suspend most routine vehicle stops following two fatal shootings involving officers in Texas and Maine. The directive, first reported on Tuesday, is described by officials as a temporary safety measure while the agency reviews its enforcement tactics, but it's not a change to its immigration policy.

The suspension applies to most vehicle stops unless agents are pursuing serious criminal suspects. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) declined to discuss operational tactics, saying only that it is 'always evaluating our procedures to keep our officers safe and criminals off our streets'.

ICE's Move Is Not A 'Change'

White House border adviser Tom Homan insisted the order should not be interpreted as a policy reversal. He said ICE agents already receive extensive training for vehicle stops but acknowledged that officers often have only seconds to make decisions in rapidly changing situations.

Homan described the directive as 'a temporary pause', adding that deportation operations will continue while agency leadership conducts a short-term review. He also stressed that every arrest presents different circumstances, making routine evaluations necessary after major incidents.

The latest fatal shooting happened in Biddeford, Maine, roughly 24 kilometres south of Portland, where an ICE officer shot a 26-year-old Colombian national during an immigration enforcement operation.

DHS said the officer fired after the man attempted to flee in a vehicle, and the agent feared for public safety. The department did not provide further details about the perceived threat.

Although authorities have not officially identified the victim, local lawmakers and neighbours named him as Joan Sebastian Guerrero. Immigration advocates said he was authorised to work legally in the United States and possessed a Social Security number. The Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition and Presente! Maine described his death as 'devastating, enraging, and unacceptable'.

Controversial Fatal Shootings

The Maine case came only days after another fatal encounter in Houston, Texas. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican national who had lived in the United States for decades, was shot and killed by an ICE officer during a vehicle stop while driving to work.

DHS said officers stopped Araujo because he resembled the intended target of an immigration operation and maintained that the officer acted in self-defence. However, Araujo was later confirmed not to be the individual ICE had been seeking.

Passengers travelling with Araujo and his family have disputed the department's account. The agency's internal watchdog has since opened an investigation into the shooting.

A separate incident also unfolded in St. Augustine, Florida, where a person fleeing federal immigration agents was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Dems Question If There Are 'Quotas'

The recent deaths have intensified criticism from Democratic lawmakers. Senator Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, argued that ICE's enforcement approach is contributing to increasingly dangerous encounters.

Durbin also said he fears more incidents could occur because of what he described as arrest and deportation 'quotas' within the agency.

'They are not following the basic rules and principles when it comes to good policing,' Durbin said. 'Saying that they're just going to adjust things is not enough. This is creating a wave of terror and fear in our country. It is interfering with the lives of people who just want to be good citizens and good people.'

The latest incidents have triggered protests in both Texas and Maine, adding to demonstrations held earlier this year following the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two US citizens who were fatally shot during confrontations with ICE agents while protesting in Minneapolis.

President Donald Trump has continued to prioritise immigration enforcement since returning to office, replacing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with Markwayne Mullin in March before appointing former Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino to a senior leadership role.