President Donald Trump is publicly pushing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to continue vehicle stops, appearing to overrule a temporary restriction imposed by his own administration after two drivers were fatally shot during immigration operations in less than a week.
“We CANNOT give up one of I.C.E.’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!” Trump wrote Wednesday morning on Truth Social.
His statement came one day after administration officials directed ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations officers to suspend most vehicle stops while the agency reviews its tactics and the circumstances surrounding the two shootings.
White House and ICE send conflicting messages
The directive issued Tuesday included exceptions for operations involving criminal warrants or work conducted alongside partner law enforcement agencies.
Border czar Tom Homan characterized the change as a “short pause,” not a permanent policy shift, and said ICE could continue pursuing arrests through other methods while the review was underway.
Trump’s post, however, made clear that he does not want the agency to abandon the tactic.
It was not immediately clear whether ICE had formally rescinded the pause or whether Trump’s comments amounted to a public instruction that would be translated into updated operational guidance. The Department of Homeland Security had not publicly released the original directive or announced a new policy reversing it.
Two shootings triggered the pause
The temporary restriction followed the deaths of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston on July 7 and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine, on July 13.
Both men were shot by ICE officers during vehicle-based enforcement operations. Reporting citing people familiar with the cases said neither driver was the target agents initially set out to arrest.
DHS said Salgado Araujo rammed a law enforcement vehicle, ignored commands, and threatened officers before an agent fired in self-defense. Men who were inside the van disputed that account, saying unmarked vehicles surrounded them and the agents did not clearly identify themselves.
In Maine, DHS said an officer fired after Durán Guerrero attempted to flee and the officer feared for public safety. The agency has not publicly explained precisely how the vehicle threatened the officer or others.
Investigations underway in both cases
The DHS Office of Inspector General is investigating both shootings.
Authorities in Maine, including the state attorney general’s office, are also reviewing Durán Guerrero’s death. In Texas, the Harris County district attorney and other state and local agencies have opened separate investigations into Salgado Araujo’s shooting.
The lack of body camera footage in the both encounters has added to questions about what happened. DHS has since said it will move quickly to expand the deployment of body cameras to immigration officers nationwide.
Trump defends an aggressive enforcement tool
According to data compiled by the Cato Institute, traffic offenses accounted for 14,056 of the roughly 204,297 ICE detention book-ins recorded between Oct. 1, 2025, and June 14, 2026, or nearly 7% of the total.
Trump’s intervention signals the administration is unlikely to abandon the tactic for long. Until DHS issues updated guidance, however, ICE officers face conflicting directives: an operational pause from agency leadership and the president’s public call to resume vehicle stops.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
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