The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has ordered officers across the country to suspend most vehicle stops following two fatal shootings involving agents during traffic stop operations in Texas and Maine within six days.
The temporary change in enforcement tactics was confirmed on Tuesday by President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, who described the move as a short-term safety review rather than a policy shift.
“It’s not a policy change, it’s a temporary pause,” Homan said during an interview on Fox News. “This is going to be a short-term review to make sure ICE agents are safe and doing the right thing.” He added that officers would rely on other methods to carry out arrests while the review is underway.
The suspension came a day after an ICE agent fatally shot a Colombian national during an enforcement operation in Biddeford, Maine, about 24 kilometres south of Portland.
The latest incident followed the July 7 fatal shooting of a Mexican national by an ICE officer attempting to stop his vehicle in Houston, Texas.
In both cases, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE’s parent agency, said the deceased men were in the United States illegally. However, officials acknowledged that neither man was the intended target of the immigration operations that resulted in their deaths.
Authorities have not released body camera footage or other video evidence of either shooting, nor have they publicly presented evidence supporting claims that the men posed an immediate threat warranting the use of deadly force.
According to ICE policy, lethal force is authorised only when there is “imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death to the officer or to another person” and “is not authorised solely to prevent the escape of a fleeing suspect.”
Following Monday’s shooting, DHS said an ICE officer opened fire after the driver attempted to flee and the officer feared for public safety. However, the department did not explain how the circumstances met the agency’s standard for the use of deadly force.
The two shootings have intensified scrutiny of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, bringing the number of people killed during immigration enforcement operations since January 2025 to at least seven.
Internal ICE data obtained by Reuters showed that immigration arrests in Maine have increased sharply, rising more than fourfold since early June to around 70 arrests per day in early July.
The fatal shooting in Maine sparked protests on Monday, with additional demonstrations held on Tuesday in Maine, Boston and Houston.
The man killed in Maine was identified by his family as Johan Sebastian Duran, a 25-year-old Colombian national.
According to a GoFundMe page established for his family, Duran leaves behind his wife and three-year-old daughter, who “now face an uncertain future without him.”
Immigration advocates said Duran had authorisation to work legally in the United States.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the killing, writing on X: “He was killed because he was believed to be an inferior being with no rights.” Petro added that Colombia would pursue legal action over the incident.
According to the Portland Press Herald, Duran worked two jobs, including as a food delivery driver. His wife and young daughter reportedly witnessed the aftermath of the shooting.
Eyewitness Daniel Boucher, 71, told Reuters he heard what sounded like firecrackers before seeing a white SUV collide with a smaller white car.
“I remember hearing the victim say, ‘But I tried to stop,’” Boucher said, adding that the man appeared to stop breathing shortly afterwards.
The Maine Attorney General’s Office said it has launched an investigation alongside state, local and federal authorities.
The circumstances surrounding the Maine operation have also drawn questions from lawmakers.
U.S. Senator Angus King said the ICE agents involved were not wearing body cameras.
According to DHS, agents had been conducting surveillance on the last known address of a person with a final removal order when they followed a vehicle leaving the residence. However, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin later informed King that the driver who was shot was not the intended target of the operation, according to the senator’s office.
The earlier Houston shooting involved 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national who had lived in the United States illegally for more than three decades.
DHS said Salgado rammed a law enforcement vehicle with his van and attempted to run over an officer, who then fired in self-defence.
However, the agency has not released evidence supporting that account, while three passengers travelling in Salgado’s vehicle have disputed the official version of events through their lawyer.
Separately, another ICE-related fatality was reported on Tuesday in St. Augustine, Florida, where a man died after being struck by a tractor-trailer while fleeing what authorities described as an encounter with federal immigration agents at a petrol station.
Officials said the circumstances surrounding that incident remain under investigation.
Boluwatife Enome
