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Calling traffic stops one of ICE's most effective enforcement tools, Donald Trump said the agency should not abandon the tactic despite growing scrutiny over the deaths.
People protest outside the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) facility, a day after ICE agents fatally shot a driver in Maine. (Photo: Reuters)
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents would continue carrying out vehicle stops, reversing a temporary pause announced just a day earlier after two fatal shootings involving federal immigration officers sparked nationwide criticism.
Calling traffic stops one of ICE's most effective enforcement tools, Trump said the agency should not abandon the tactic despite growing scrutiny over the deaths.
"We must be strong, tough, and smart, and we CANNOT give up one of ICE's most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!" Trump wrote on social media.
His remarks came after administration officials said on Tuesday that ICE had temporarily suspended most vehicle stops across the United States while reviewing officer safety procedures and enforcement practices.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION REJECTS PAUSE
The suspension followed two deadly incidents that occurred six days apart in Texas and Maine.
Border czar Tom Homan had described the move as a short-term review rather than a policy shift.
"It's not a policy change, it's a temporary pause," Homan told Fox News.
"This is going to be a short-term review to make sure ICE agents are safe and doing the right thing," he said, adding that officers would continue making arrests through other methods during the review.
Trump, however, made clear that he wants traffic stops to resume, arguing they remain essential to immigration enforcement and crime prevention.
TWO SHOOTINGS SPARK OUTRAGE
The latest controversy began on Monday when ICE officers fatally shot 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Durn Guerrero during an enforcement operation in Biddeford, Maine. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Colombian national attempted to flee in his vehicle, prompting an officer to open fire after fearing for public safety.
However, officials acknowledged Duran Guerrero was not the intended target of the immigration operation.
Family members and immigrant rights groups have disputed the government's account.
Duran Guerrero had legal authorisation to work in the United States and had been issued a Social Security number, according to the Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition.
Surveillance footage reviewed by media outlets appears to show an unmarked vehicle blocking his car before gunshots were fired.
Neighbours described him as a hardworking father who lived with his partner and their three-year-old daughter.
"He was a good person," one neighbour told CNN.
HOUSTON SHOOTING UNDER SCRUTINY
The second incident occurred on July 7 in Houston, where 52-year-old Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot and killed while driving to work with three construction workers.
DHS said Salgado Araujo rammed a law enforcement vehicle and ignored repeated commands before an ICE officer fired in self-defence.
But the men travelling with him challenged that version of events.
They said officers driving unmarked vehicles forced their van to stop without identifying themselves.
According to Salgado Araujo's brother, an unidentified officer approached the vehicle, shouted "Stop," and immediately opened fire.
Like the Maine case, federal officials later acknowledged Salgado Araujo was also not the target of the original enforcement operation.
INVESTIGATIONS UNDERWAY
The back-to-back shootings have triggered protests in Houston, Boston and Maine while intensifying calls for greater accountability within ICE. Questions have also been raised over why many immigration officers were not equipped with body cameras.
In response, DHS said body cameras would be deployed rapidly to ICE officers across the country.
Several investigations are now underway.
The Maine Attorney General, the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General and local authorities are investigating the Biddeford shooting. In Texas, the DHS inspector general, the FBI, the Houston Police Department and the Harris County District Attorney's Office have all opened separate investigations into Salgado Araujo's death.
Prosecutors in Houston have accused federal authorities of failing to provide key evidence despite issuing multiple subpoenas.
- Ends
Published By:
Satyam Singh
Published On:
Jul 15, 2026 18:48 IST
