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The US president has backed down despite the agency announcing a temporary hiatus after the shootings in Texas and Maine.
Published on 15 Jul 2026
A day after its administration announced the temporary suspension, dozens of ICE vehicles have stopped complying two fatal shotsPresident Donald Trump is urging US immigration agencies to continue using this method.
In a press release Wednesday, Trump praised Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for doing a “GREAT job” and said traffic stops remain the agency’s most effective tool in its campaign to deport people.
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“We must be strong, resilient, and smart, and we CANNOT abandon one of the most important and effective Crime Fighting tools in ICE, THE TRAFFIC STOP!” Trump wrote. “If we do, we are playing into the hands of the pirates.”
He also urged officers to be “smart, fair and prudent” as they “return to their most important duties”.
The comments came a day after Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, said ICE had temporarily halted most of its parking facilities while it reviewed the practice after two shootings in the week.
“It’s not a policy change. I’m taking a break,” Homan told Fox News on Tuesday. “This will be a temporary review to ensure that ICE agents are safe and doing the right thing.”
Homan said police will continue to make arrests using other methods while the investigation is underway.
This review was triggered by Monday’s deadly shooting 25-year-old Colombian Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero at the ICE operation in Biddeford, Maine.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, initially told Maine Senator Angus King that police officer Duran Guerrero was fired after he tried to use his car as a weapon. Later, the department said publicly that Duran Guerrero tried to escape and a police officer, “fearing for public safety”, opened fire.
The officers involved were not wearing body cameras, and FBI and Maine officials are investigating the shooting.
Six days earlier, an ICE agent in Houston, Texas, shot and killed 52-year-old Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a traffic stop. DHS said the officer shot Salgado Araujo after he “shot” his car, but the witnesses are family members to argue that account.
The Department of Homeland Security said both men were in the US without documents but admitted there was no intention to deport those who died.
Authorities have not publicly released evidence to support claims that any individual is at risk of justifying the use of deadly force. Prosecutors say claims by Trump administration officials about similar incidents, including the killing of two US citizens in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in January, have already been proven false.
The repeated shootings have sparked protests in Maine, Houston and Boston, Massachusetts, while raising questions about ICE’s use of force and the agency’s reliance on traffic stops. It has also raised questions about training as the agency seeks to rapidly expand its ranks under Trump.
According to The Associated Press, at least 10 people have been killed during Trump’s impeachment campaign when he returns to office in January 2025. At least four of the deaths were caused by vehicles.
John Sandweg, who served as director of ICE under former President Barack Obama, told the AP that there have been about 18 arrests made during the Trump administration.
That prompted Maine Senator Susan Collins to urge Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to halt “all unnecessary stops,” she said Tuesday.
ICE said it has relied heavily on traffic stops because many immigrants avoid arrest by refusing to leave their homes.
The agency has criticized immigration advocates, advising immigrants not to open their doors unless officers provide a warrant signed by a judge rather than the warrants used by ICE.
