FBI investigators work the scene of an alleged ICE concerned taking pictures in Biddeford, Maine, on July 13, 2026.
Joseph Prezioso/AFP by way of Getty Pictures
disguise caption
toggle caption
Joseph Prezioso/AFP by way of Getty Pictures
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will pause non-urgent car stops after two lethal shootings in lower than every week, Maine Sen. Angus King’s workplace tells NPR.
King’s spokesman Matthew Felling says the Division of Homeland Safety confirmed the coverage shift. Maine Sen. Susan Collins additionally posted on X Tuesday that she had referred to as for change.
“I spoke with DHS Secretary Mullin final night time and urged him to stop all non-urgent car stops,” she wrote.
DHS instructed NPR in an announcement that it’s going to not “disclose or focus on legislation enforcement techniques,” and it is unclear what this modification will appear to be in observe.
The newest demise occurred Monday in Biddeford, Maine, the place ICE brokers tried to tug over the automobile of 26-year-old Joan Durán Guerrero, a Colombian nationwide.
“The car tried to flee the scene and fearing for public security an officer discharged his weapon,” DHS mentioned in an announcement. Nevertheless, the company has not supplied any proof to again the claims. The brokers weren’t sporting physique cameras.
Final week, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot by brokers in Houston after they tried to tug him over. The Division of Homeland Safety says Salgado Araujo tried to make use of his van as a weapon, prompting an agent to fireplace their weapon. However passengers within the van have disputed this account.
Paul Hunker, the previous chief counsel of ICE in Dallas, instructed NPR the requirements and ideas of when to discharge a firearm are clear.
“I used to be an legal professional for the officers — the particular person has to pose an imminent risk of hurt to make use of lethal pressure,” Hunker mentioned.
He mentioned whether or not the particular person poses an imminent risk is at all times from the attitude of the officer.
DHS Coverage
The Division of Homeland Safety’s coverage says lethal pressure can’t be used solely to forestall somebody from fleeing … until the particular person poses a major risk of demise or severe bodily hurt to the agent or others.
DHS accused Salgado Araujo of weaponizing his automobile towards the ICE officer. In Maine, the company mentioned Durán Guerrero posed a public security risk.
However in these instances, there hasn’t been video proof to again up these allegations.
The newest improvement has been welcomed by former DHS officers who mentioned a reset is required with a purpose to regain the belief of the general public, and guarantee no extra lives are misplaced.
“That particular person might flee and current an enormous hazard to individuals round them … that is one of many causes I believe there are few car chases due to the hazard and the hurt that would occur if a type of goes dangerous.” Hunker mentioned.
He mentioned previously, ICE’s choice has been to imagine custody of the undocumented immigrants who had been already in jails, making it safer for the brokers.
Sarah Saldaña, a former ICE performing director below President Obama, mentioned the shift in coverage is an efficient begin.
“I believe it is a very sensible factor to do till the company can get its officers extra correctly educated and attuned to what their effort is,” Saldaña mentioned. “Immigration enforcement shouldn’t be a lethal endeavor — it needs to be a way by which to ensure that persons are complying with the legislation.”
Regardless of the shift in coverage, there are a variety of excellent questions on what led to the deadly shootings of Salgado Araujo in Houston final week, and of Durán Guerrero in Maine this week.
Not one of the federal immigration brokers had been sporting physique cameras, in response to the Division of Homeland Safety.
After the taking pictures of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January, DHS vowed to shortly deploy physique cameras to federal immigration brokers nationwide.
However that hasn’t occurred.
The company is blaming Democrats in Congress and the partial authorities shutdowns for this. However it’s, once more, vowing to deploy physique cameras for all brokers within the subsequent 60 days.
That footage would have been key to understanding whether or not the brokers adopted protocol or not, and to carry the brokers accountable, mentioned Lauren Bonds, the manager director of the nonprofit Nationwide Police Accountability Challenge.
“Fortunately in each situations there have been witnesses, unbiased witnesses, that noticed some issues and had been capable of share some info,” Bonds mentioned. “However it’s actually arduous to have the ability to maintain ICE brokers accountable in any method if all we’re getting from DHS proper now could be sort of imprecise statements concerning the automobile being utilized in a means that was both threatening the ICE brokers or, within the case of Maine, threatening the general public.”
Bonds mentioned the general public must maintain demanding solutions and unbiased investigations to create a change in coverage — just like the pause on site visitors stops made public Tuesday.
NPR’s Meg Anderson contributed reporting.
