Trump Endorses ICE Traffic Stops Despite Policy Change Following Fatal Shootings

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump supports the continuation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) traffic stops after recent fatal shootings, challenging a new policy meant to halt them. On Wednesday, Trump shared a message on his social media platform stating ICE is “doing a GREAT job, one that has to be done.” The president emphasized the need for strong action to remove criminals who entered under the previous Democratic administration. “We must be strong, tough and smart and we CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!” Trump added, noting that abandoning this tactic would benefit criminals.

The policy shift follows an incident in Maine where an ICE officer fatally shot a Colombian driver on Monday. This occurred a week after a similar event in Houston, leading to criticism over the agency’s strategies, which were heavily criticized last winter following the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota. On Monday, images from Biddeford, Maine showed a Kia sedan, reportedly driven by the shooting victim, with four bullet holes in the windshield, taken by Gregory Rec from Portland Press Herald via Getty.

The pattern continued in Florida, where a 28-year-old man died during a confrontation with immigration officers, becoming the third fatality within a week. He was struck by a tractor trailer while fleeing from immigration and federal officers. The recurring incidents of ICE confronting drivers and claiming they shot in self-defense from vehicles perceived as threats persist despite long-standing warnings from policing experts against shooting into moving cars, a practice considered risky and generally advised against.

Since the commencement of the Trump administration’s intensified deportation efforts, at least 10 individuals have been killed during immigration operations, with four of these deaths occurring in vehicles. This prompted U.S. Sen. Susan Collins on Tuesday to ask DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to “cease all non-urgent vehicle stops.” John Sandweg, who served as acting director of ICE under the Obama administration, recently estimated about 18 traffic-stop shootings have happened during Trump’s immigration crackdown.