by Kevin Killough
Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday curtailed agents stopping vehicles as part of the federal agency’s nationwide deportation operation – following ICE agents fatally shooting two motorists in one week.
The change in policy is being reported by several news outlets including Fox News.
Under the new policy, ICE will conduct vehicle stops only for those considered to be key targets, such as those with violent criminal histories.
On Monday, an ICE agent fatally shot a motorist in Biddeford, Maine. The victim is reported to be a 26-year-old Columbian nationalist. But as of Tuesday afternoon, whether he was the intended target of the arrest warrant remained unclear.
On July 7, an ICE agent shot 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, of Mexico, during a traffic stop.
In both instances, federal officials allege the victim used his vehicle in a way that put agents safety and life in danger.
On social media, Maine Sen. Susan Collins said she talked to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, urging “him to cease all non-urgent vehicle stops.”
“An impartial investigation into the shooting in Biddeford needs to proceed, as the details surrounding this tragedy are important. It is extremely unfortunate that the agent involved did not have a body-worn camera. In April, measures that I authored in the Homeland Security funding bill became law, including $20 million for expanded use of body-worn cameras, $2 million for de-escalation training, and a 17% increase in the independent Office of Inspector General’s budget to investigate matters such as this shooting. The Democratic government shutdown delayed enactment and implementation of these important safety measures,” Collins said.
“While it is clear ICE needs to improve its performance, it is important to remember that the work ICE does to protect our country goes far beyond immigration enforcement. ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is tasked with combating cartels, human smuggling, child exploitation, forced labor, and more. Eliminating ICE would make our country less safe and endanger the lives and welfare of countless individuals,” she added.
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Kevin Killough is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
