Trump administration suspends ICE traffic stops following fatal Maine shooting
The directive allows for exceptions during warrant execution, as investigations into the death of Colombian national Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero proceed.
The Trump administration has directed US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to suspend most traffic stops used to detain immigrants across the United States. The order, confirmed on Tuesday, follows the fatal shooting of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian national, by an ICE agent in Biddeford, Maine. The suspension includes exceptions for executing criminal warrants or working with partner agencies.
The directive comes a week after an ICE officer fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old motorist, in Houston, Texas. The two incidents in little over a week have renewed criticism of the agency's enforcement tactics. Outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the Maine shooting as a "targeted killing," accusing ICE officers of treating Durán Guerrero as an "inferior being without rights."
Homeland Security stated the officer fired while "fearing for public safety" as the vehicle attempted to flee. Maine Senator Angus King reported that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the officer opened fire after the driver attempted to use his vehicle as a weapon. King noted that officers were attempting to serve an arrest warrant for a different individual at the time.
The officers involved in the Maine shooting did not have body cameras, leaving significant questions about the sequence of events. Video from a nearby business shows a white car circling an intersection before being blocked by a law enforcement SUV; officers were seen dragging a limp body from the vehicle. A local resident, Daniel Boucher, reported hearing the victim say, "I tried to stop," and stated the officer told him, "He tried to run me over."
Two advocacy groups, the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and Presente!, stated that Durán Guerrero was authorised to work in the US. Hundreds of people protested outside an ICE detention centre in Scarborough, Maine, on Tuesday. The Maine Attorney General’s office and the DHS Office of Inspector General are investigating, with cooperation from the FBI.
ICE arrested more than 10,000 people over five days at the end of June, indicating a surge in enforcement efforts. The administration’s enforcement efforts were widely condemned last winter after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota.
