A handwritten cardboard memorial sign in the name of Joan Sebastian Guerrero is displayed during a candlelight memorial service at Mechanics Park, after a shooting involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in Biddeford, Maine, U.S., July 13, 2026. Image@ REUTERS/CJ Gunther
President Donald Trump has ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to continue using traffic stops in immigration enforcement, reversing a temporary suspension announced by his own administration just a day earlier. The decision comes as the tactic faces mounting scrutiny following two fatal shootings involving ICE agents that have sparked protests, multiple investigations and diplomatic criticism from Colombia.
“We must be strong, tough, and smart, and we CANNOT give up one of I.C.E.’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!” Trump wrote on social media.
His directive overturned a decision by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which had instructed ICE officers to temporarily halt most vehicle stops nationwide after two fatal encounters involving agents within six days.
One of the incidents occurred in Biddeford, Maine, where ICE agents fatally shot 26-year-old Colombian national Joan Sebastian Durán Guerrero on Monday as he was driving to work. The other took place in Houston on July 7, when ICE officers shot and killed 52-year-old Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during an attempted vehicle stop.
Durán Guerrero lived with his partner and their three-year-old daughter and was legally authorized to work in the United States with a Social Security number, according to the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition. A neighbor described him as “a good person.” Surveillance video reviewed by the Associated Press appears to show his white sedan circling an intersection before an unmarked vehicle blocked its path.
Salgado Araujo had lived in the United States without legal status for more than 30 years, according to federal authorities.
White House border adviser Tom Homan dismissed the apparent policy reversal, saying the original suspension was only intended to allow a brief safety review.
“It’s not a policy change, it’s a temporary pause,” Homan told Fox News. “This is going to be a short-term review to make sure ICE agents are safe and doing the right thing.” He said officers would continue making arrests using other methods while the review was underway.
The shootings have fueled protests in Maine, Houston and Boston while renewing criticism over ICE’s lack of body cameras. The agency now says it plans to assign at least one body camera-equipped officer to every arrest team.
Maine Senators Angus King and Susan Collins, who have advocated requiring ICE agents to wear body cameras, argued the agency should not be left to investigate its own officers.
Several investigations are now underway. The Maine Attorney General is investigating the Biddeford shooting alongside local and federal authorities, while Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the department’s Office of Inspector General has assumed responsibility for the federal inquiry. In Houston, the DHS Inspector General is leading a separate investigation, the FBI is examining allegations of an assault on a federal officer, and the Harris County District Attorney has launched an independent review.
The Biddeford shooting has also drawn international condemnation. Colombian President Gustavo Petro described Durán Guerrero’s death as a “murder,” accusing the ICE officer of treating him as “an inferior being devoid of rights.” He said he expects those responsible to face legal consequences.
The Department of Homeland Security has described both victims as undocumented immigrants but acknowledged neither was the intended target of the enforcement operations that ended in their deaths. Authorities have not presented evidence that either man posed a threat requiring the use of deadly force.
In the Houston case, ICE said Salgado Araujo rammed a law enforcement vehicle and ignored repeated commands before an agent fired in self-defense. That account has been challenged by three passengers who were in the van, according to an attorney representing two of them.
The two fatalities bring the number of people killed during federal immigration enforcement operations to at least seven since January 2025, when Trump returned to office and launched an expanded deportation campaign. Enforcement activity has risen sharply in Maine, where internal ICE data shows arrests have increased more than fourfold since early June, reaching roughly 70 per day in early July.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah