Federal immigration officers across the country have been told to stop pulling over vehicles after recent shootings in Maine and Texas.
Three Homeland Security sources told The Daily Wire Tuesday that they were told “no more vehicle stops for now.” The new directive has the potential to massively impact ICE’s ability to make arrests, as officers often prefer to catch targets during traffic stops rather than at suspects’ homes, where illegal immigrants could have access to weapons. Officers also need a judicial warrant to enter a suspect’s home without their permission, but no such restriction exists for traffic stops.
“Numbers are going down, we can’t do sh*t,” an agency source fumed.
The latest change provides limited exceptions when officers have a criminal warrant, with the agency saying that they must work with outside agencies to pull over the target.
The pause comes a day after a 26-year-old Colombian man was fatally shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers as they were trying to pull over his vehicle in Biddeford, Maine.
Maine Sen. Angus King (I-ME) said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the man who was shot was not the person ICE was trying to arrest, according to CNN. King was walking back a previous statement where he claimed that Mullin said the deceased man was ICE’s target.
In a statement Monday, an ICE spokesperson said the driver, who was shot and killed, “attempted to flee” and that the officer who fired their weapon was “fearing for public safety.”
“The driver of the vehicle was struck, and emergency services were immediately contacted. He passed away from his injuries,” ICE said.
Unlike during prior traffic stops-turned-shootings, ICE did not claim that the man shot and killed by officers tried to hit them with his vehicle, and emphasized that the incident is still under investigation. The deceased man’s identity has yet to be released.
The Biddeford Police Department and the FBI responded to the scene, while DHS’ Office of Inspector General was “notified” of the incident, ICE said.
“This is a developing situation, and we will update the public when more information is available,” ICE said.
Last Tuesday, an ICE officer in Houston fatally shot Mexican illegal immigrant Lorenzo Salgado Araujo while conducting a vehicle stop. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Araujo wasn’t their original target, but claimed that he “weaponized” his vehicle and tried to run over an officer, prompting one to fire “in self-defense.”
Anti-ICE protesters have taken to the streets in Texas and Maine to express their outrage over the latest shootings. Demonstrators attempted to storm Sen. Susan Collins’ (R-ME) office Monday, shouting “vote her out.”
DHS didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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