Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been ordered to pause most traffic stops after deadly incidents in Maine and Texas, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday.
Scripps News has sought confirmation from the Department of Homeland Security. CNN cited a source familiar with the guidance.
In response to reports, DHS told Scripps News, "We are always evaluating our procedures to keep our officers safe and criminals off our streets. We will not disclose or discuss law enforcement tactics."
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Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian man living in Maine, was fatally shot by ICE agents Monday during a traffic stop. Sen. Angus King said Guerrero was not the target of an immigration operation.
Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, urged the Trump administration to halt ICE traffic stops.
“While the investigation of the Biddeford shooting is not yet complete, it raises sufficient critical questions that I spoke with DHS Secretary (Markwayne) Mullin last night and urged him to cease all non-urgent vehicle stops,” she said.
The Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition said Guerrero was authorized to work in the U.S. and had been issued a Social Security number.
Days earlier, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was fatally wounded during a traffic stop involving ICE in Houston. Like the shooting in Maine, Salgado Araujo was not the person ICE was trying to find.
The incidents follow two fatal shootings in the Minneapolis area in January. In one of those incidents, Renee Good was fatally wounded by an ICE agent while driving a vehicle.
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