ICE Suspends Traffic Stops Following Fierce Backlash to Latest Fatal Shootings, CNN Reports

AP Photo/John Locher

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reportedly ordered agents Tuesday to end the use of vehicle stops in a major rollback of one of the agency’s key enforcement tactics after backlash following two fatal shootings in less than a week.

The directive applies to agents within ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division, which is responsible for arresting and deporting undocumented immigrants, a source familiar with the guidance told CNN.

Agents have been instructed to suspend initiating most traffic stops until further notice, instead working alongside partner law enforcement agencies when carrying out criminal warrants involving people in vehicles.

The move follows two deadly encounters during traffic stops that have intensified scrutiny of the agency’s enforcement methods.

An ICE officer fatally shot 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine during a traffic stop on Monday. Guerrero, a Colombian father who was authorized to work in the United States and had been issued a Social Security number, was not the target of the immigration operation.

The Department of Homeland Security said an ICE officer opened fire after “fearing for public safety” when Guerrero “attempted to flee the scene” in a vehicle. The department did not provide further details explaining why the officer believed Guerrero posed a threat.

That shooting came just days after another fatal incident involving ICE officers during a traffic stop in Houston, Texas, where an agent shot and killed Mexican immigrant Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.

Vehicle stops have become an increasingly prominent tool in ICE’s efforts to increase immigration arrests, particularly under expanded enforcement operations.

Under the new guidance, agents may still be involved in vehicle stops when working with partner agencies to execute criminal warrants, but they are no longer expected to initiate most stops themselves, according to the source.

The Department of Homeland Security has not yet publicly announced or reported the policy change.

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