Trump says ICE should resume traffic stops despite recent deaths
by Lisa Hornung · UPIJuly 15 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump said on social media Wednesday that immigration enforcement agents should resume traffic stops after agents shot and killed two people.
On Tuesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were told to stop making most traffic stops after agents shot and killed Colombian immigrant Joan Sebastian Guerrero, 26, in Biddeford, Maine. The Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition said Guerrero was authorized to work in the United States and had been issued a Social Security number, CNN reported.
Tuesday evening, a person in Florida was killed while running from ICE agents. The person ran in front of a tractor-trailer on foot and was killed. The driver of the truck and several witnesses rendered aid and tried to save his life.
"The men and women of ICE are doing a GREAT job, one that has to be done. CRIME IS WAY DOWN IN AMERICA, in many cases with numbers that haven't been seen in decades. The Open Border Policy of Sleepy Joe Biden allowed 25,000,000 people to pour into our Country, unchecked and unvetted. Many were Criminals, and we have to get them out. In order to do this, 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! Once we do, we are playing right into the criminal's hands. The Radical Left Dumocrats would like to see this done, but it won't happen on my watch. I.C.E., be judicious, fair and smart, and go back and do your very important job. Keep those Crime Stat Records coming! Remember, you are loved and respected in America," Trump posted on Truth Social.
In a statement ICE said on Tuesday that it's, "always evaluating our procedures to keep our officers safe and criminals off the streets."
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that the agent in Maine was, "fearing for public safety as Guerrero "attempted to flee the scene."
The Maine shooting followed another on July 7 in Houston, Texas, when agents shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 53. Police said Araujo's vehicle rammed an ICE vehicle, though the other men in the vehicle dispute that account.
Guerrero and Araujo were not the targets of ICE, Homeland Security has said.
In the wake of the shootings, the Department pledged to "rapidly" deploy body cameras to all agents.
At least 21 people have reportedly died in ICE custody this year, according to the National Immigration Project, though DHS only reports 19. Either figure means the country could surpass the 33 deaths in 2025, which was a two-decade high.
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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is sworn in at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination to be attorney general at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. Blanche has served as acting attorney general since April, when former Attorney General Pam Bondi was fired. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo