ICE Temporarily Suspends Most Vehicle Stops Nationwide After Two Fatal Shootings
Dragon Media News Desk
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has temporarily suspended most vehicle-stop operations nationwide after two people were killed in separate incidents involving immigration officers within six days.
According to law enforcement sources, ICE officers have been instructed not to conduct vehicle stops except in cases involving individuals suspected of serious criminal activity.
The temporary restriction applies to ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division, which conducts civil immigration arrests and deportation operations. The work of Homeland Security Investigations, which handles criminal investigations, will not be affected.
Tom Homan, the Trump administration’s border policy chief, described the measure as a temporary pause rather than a permanent policy change.
He said recent incidents would be reviewed and officers would receive additional training on vehicle-stop procedures. Joint operations targeting individuals wanted in serious criminal cases under court-issued warrants will continue in coordination with other law enforcement agencies.
The decision followed a fatal shooting in Biddeford, Maine, on July 13, in which an ICE officer shot Colombian national Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero during an attempted vehicle stop.
The Department of Homeland Security said Guerrero tried to flee and created a threat to public safety, prompting the officer to open fire.
However, DHS and local lawmakers later confirmed that Guerrero was not the person ICE officers had originally been seeking that day.
The officers had been monitoring the address of another individual who was subject to a final deportation order when they stopped Guerrero’s vehicle.
Guerrero, 25, died from his injuries. He is survived by his wife and three-year-old daughter.
Independent Maine Senator Angus King called for an impartial, open and transparent investigation into the shooting.
The officer involved was reportedly not wearing a body camera. King said that although the Federal Bureau of Investigation would lead the inquiry, state and local agencies should also be involved.
Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine said she had spoken with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and urged him to suspend all non-urgent vehicle stops.
Collins later confirmed that the department had halted such operations. She said an impartial investigation was necessary and described the absence of a body camera as deeply concerning.
Collins, King and Maine House members Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden also sent a joint letter to the DHS inspector general requesting a comprehensive, transparent and expedited investigation.
They said an objective review of the facts was necessary to maintain public confidence and ensure that federal law enforcement operations were conducted legally and safely.
A similar incident occurred six days earlier in Houston, Texas.
On July 7, ICE officers fatally shot Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a vehicle stop while searching for another person.
DHS said officers had received information about a target and had been conducting surveillance near the person’s address. They stopped Araujo’s white van after concluding that the vehicle and its driver resembled the individual they were seeking.
The department alleged that Araujo ignored repeated verbal commands and attempted to strike an officer with his vehicle, leading the officer to fire in self-defence.
Lawyers representing witnesses, however, challenged the official account. They claimed the vehicle had already stopped when shots were fired through a passenger-side window.
The officer involved reportedly did not have a body camera, and the vehicle was not equipped with a dashboard camera. The FBI is investigating the incident.
Araujo had lived in the United States without legal status for more than three decades.
His family said he had no criminal record and was close to obtaining authorisation to work legally in the country.
The two fatal incidents have intensified debate over immigration enforcement tactics used by the Trump administration, including the risk of mistaken identity, standards governing the use of lethal force and whether body cameras should be mandatory for immigration officers.
Senator King has questioned the administration’s description of its immigration campaign as an operation focused on removing serious criminals.
He said that during an enforcement operation in Maine last winter, more than 200 people were arrested, but only 19 had criminal records.
Neither investigation has been completed.
Whether the officers faced an immediate threat and whether the use of lethal force was necessary and lawful will be determined only after the inquiries are concluded.
ICE has meanwhile said it will review its vehicle-stop procedures and provide additional training to officers.
Photo: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
