Trump Administration Freezes Most ICE Traffic Stops After Officer-Involved Deaths
Maine Senator Susan Collins took some credit for the move.
The Trump administration told Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tuesday its officers must largely quit using vehicle stops to arrest illegal immigrants after Maine Senator Susan Collins personally asked Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to intervene.
The move came one day after the fatal shooting of a Colombian national in Biddeford, Maine, during an ICE enforcement action and a week after agents shot and killed a Mexican national in a Houston neighborhood.
ICE is facing increasing criticism after recent fatal shootings involving its agents. ICE agents shot and killed Minnesotans Renee Good and Alex Pretti in incidents that are still under investigation.
“I spoke with DHS Secretary Mullin last night and urged him to cease all non-urgent vehicle stops in the wake of yesterday’s deadly Biddeford shooting,” Ms. Collins, a Republican, wrote Tuesday on social media. “I am encouraged that the Department has agreed to do so.”
Ms. Collins is the focus of a Democratic push to win the Senate, with candidates vying to fill the spot of scandal-scarred Graham Platner.
ICE is allowed to stop vehicles when executing a criminal warrant or working with other agencies.
Maine’s congressional delegation Tuesday called on DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari to “conduct a comprehensive, transparent, and expedited investigation” into the Biddeford incident.
Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian national, died Monday after an officer fired because he feared for public safety when his vehicle left a residence under ICE’s “targeted surveillance,” the agency said
Hundreds protested the shooting at an ICE detention facility in Scarborough, Maine, while others attempted to enter one of Ms. Collins’ offices.
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