U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been ordered to cease most vehicle stops as part of immigration enforcement actions after agents killed two motorists in the past week. But President Donald Trump appeared to reverse that decision less than 24 hours after it was made.
ICE did not confirm reports of the policy shift but issued a statement acknowledging it is examining how it conducts operations after an agent fatally shot 26-year-old Colombian immigrant Johan Sebastian Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine, on July 13: “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,” the statement said.
Susan Collins
Multiple media outlets reported on the suspension of traffic stops, which emerged after U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, pressed the Trump administration on reigning in some ICE tactics. Collins is running for re-election in November and faces one of the toughest challenges of her political career.
“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.
DHS and ICE are feeling the heat from the killing of Guerrero and of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican immigrant fatally shot by immigration agents in Houston while driving himself and co-workers to a construction job site July 7. Araujo was in the country legally, while Guerrero’s status has not been disclosed. Neither man was the target of immigration enforcement when they were killed.
But no sooner had Collins appeared to have succeeded in getting change than Trump reversed course.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump took credit for lower crime rates nationwide and said: “We CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP! Once we do, we are playing right into the criminal’s hands. The Radical Left Dumocrats would like to see this done, but it won’t happen on my watch. ICE, be judicious, fair and smart, and go back and do your very important job.”
Meanwhile, the Maine Attorney General’s Office said it and the Maine State Police are investigating Guerrero’s shooting in cooperation with federal authorities: “Initial statements indicate an Enforcement Removal Operations Officer was conducting an enforcement operation related to a final order of removal when the subject attempted to flee in a vehicle in the direction of the officer and was fatally shot.”
Collins said Mullin informed her the DHS inspector general office in Boston was investigating the shooting in cooperation with the FBI. She joined with Maine’s congressional delegation in a July 14 letter to DHS and ICE leadership demanding a “comprehensive, transparent and expedited investigation” into the Biddeford shooting.
“Along with our constituents, we are deeply saddened by this loss of life. The facts surrounding this tragedy remain a matter of significant local concern and necessitate a thorough, objective accounting,” the legislators wrote. “Timely and factual answers will be critical to providing closure for the grieving community and ensuring that federal law enforcement operations are conducted safely, lawfully and in a manner that respects public safety.”
According to Border Report, 57 members of the Texas House Democratic Caucus have requested the Texas Rangers launch an independent investigation into the killing of Araujo, who had lived and worked in the U.S. for decades.
Gene Wu
“Whenever a law enforcement encounter ends in the loss of life, the public deserves a full, transparent and independent accounting of what happened,” caucus leader Gene Wu said. That standard should apply equally to every law enforcement agency — especially with federal agencies like ICE. Texans should expect the same level of transparency and accountability from federal immigration authorities as they do from any other law enforcement agency.”
Immigration agents have fired on at least 22 people since President Donald Trump launched his mass deportation campaign in January last year. Of those, six individuals, including three American citizens, were shot fatally, The New York Times reported.
U.S. citizens killed by immigration agents include Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both fatally shot in the vicinity of anti-ICE demonstrations in Minneapolis in January. Good was shot in her vehicle while Pretti was shot execution style while restrained by officers.
Minnesota prosecutors announced July 13 that the federal government had turned over key evidence in the killings of Good, Pretti and Venezuelan national Julio Sosa-Celis by immigration agents during “Operation Metro Surge,” the Minnesota Reformer reported.
“The evidence includes body camera footage, officer statements and the Honda Pilot in which Good was killed, all of which the federal government had previously refused to turn over in a major breach of the tradition of cooperation between state and federal law enforcement agencies,” the prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said they will examine the evidence to determine if criminal charges will be filed in the killings of Good, Pretti and Sosa-Celis. “We will be thorough. We will be complete, and we will make a decision,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said.
Jesus Ochoa and Raymundo Gutierrez are the two Customs and Border Protection officers who shot and killed Pretti Jan. 24, 2026. They were placed on administrative leave shortly after the incident but there has been no indictment or known disciplinary action against them.
Jonathan Ross is the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent identified as the shooter who killed Good on Jan. 7, 2026. He has not been arrested or charged.
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