President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that federal immigration agents, who work under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), will not stop stopping vehicles, Reuters reported. Trump’s announcement came a day after two people were shot dead by immigration agents in Texas and Maine.
“We must be strong, tough, and smart, and we CANNOT give up one of I.C.E.’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
After two people were shot dead by ICE agents, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has ordered its officers to suspend most vehicle stops across the country, according to Reuters. However, on Tuesday, top immigration official Tom Homan told Fox News that the suspension order is a temporary pause.
An ICE agent killed a Colombian driver in Biddeford, Maine, 15 miles (24 km) south of Portland, on Monday. On July 7, an ICE officer shot and killed a Mexican national in Houston. Officials claim that the man was shot after he posed a threat.
The ICE shooting sparked protests in Maine, Houston, and Boston and raised questions about the lack of body cameras on officers.
DHS confirmed that both men were living in the United States without legal documentation but acknowledged that neither was the intended target of the deportation operation that led to their deaths.
At least seven people have been shot and killed in federal immigration enforcement operations since January last year, according to Reuters. Trump has ramped up mass deportations since returning to power and ordered ICE to conduct more raids.
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