FBI investigators work the scene of an alleged ICE involved shooting in Biddeford, Maine, on July 13, 2026.
Joseph Prezioso / AFP via Getty Images
In the aftermath of deadly shootings, ICE pauses most traffic stops
By Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, NPR
Joseph Prezioso / AFP via Getty Images
FBI investigators work the scene of an alleged ICE involved shooting in Biddeford, Maine, on July 13, 2026.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will pause non-urgent vehicle stops after two deadly shootings in less than a week, Maine Sen. Angus King’s office tells NPR.
King’s spokesman Matthew Felling says the Department of Homeland Security confirmed the policy shift. Maine Sen. Susan Collins also posted on X Tuesday that she had called for change.
“I spoke with DHS Secretary Mullin last night and urged him to cease all non-urgent vehicle stops,” she wrote.
DHS told NPR in a statement that it will not “disclose or discuss law enforcement tactics,” and it’s unclear what this change will look like in practice.
The most recent death happened Monday in Biddeford, Maine, where ICE agents tried to pull over the car of 26-year-old Joan Durán Guerrero, a Colombian national.
“The vehicle attempted to flee the scene and fearing for public safety an officer discharged his weapon,” DHS said in a statement. However, the agency has not provided any evidence to back the claims. The agents were not wearing body cameras.
Last week, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot by agents in Houston after they attempted to pull him over. The Department of Homeland Security says Salgado Araujo tried to use his van as a weapon, prompting an agent to fire their weapon. But passengers in the van have disputed this account.
Paul Hunker, the former chief counsel of ICE in Dallas, told NPR the standards and principles of when to discharge a firearm are clear.
“I was an attorney for the officers — the person has to pose an imminent threat of harm to use deadly force,” Hunker said.
He said whether the person poses an imminent threat is always from the perspective of the officer.
DHS Policy
The Department of Homeland Security’s policy says deadly force cannot be used solely to prevent someone from fleeing … unless the person poses a significant threat of death or serious physical harm to the agent or others.
DHS accused Salgado Araujo of weaponizing his car against the ICE officer. In Maine, the agency said Durán Guerrero posed a public safety threat.
But in these cases, there hasn’t been video evidence to back up those allegations.
The latest development has been welcomed by former DHS officials who said a reset is needed in order to regain the trust of the public, and ensure no more lives are lost.
“That person could flee and present a big danger to people around them … that’s one of the reasons I think there are few vehicle chases because of the danger and the harm that could happen if one of those goes bad.” Hunker said.
He said in the past, ICE’s preference has been to assume custody of the undocumented immigrants who were already in jails, making it safer for the agents.
Sarah Saldaña, a former ICE acting director under President Obama, said the shift in policy is a good start.
“I think it’s a very practical thing to do until the agency can get its officers more properly trained and attuned to what their effort is,” Saldaña said. “Immigration enforcement should not be a deadly endeavor — it should be a method by which to make sure that people are complying with the law.”
Despite the shift in policy, there are a lot of outstanding questions about what led to the fatal shootings of Salgado Araujo in Houston last week, and of Durán Guerrero in Maine this week.
None of the federal immigration agents were wearing body cameras, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
After the shooting of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January, DHS vowed to quickly deploy body cameras to federal immigration agents nationwide.
But that hasn’t happened.
The agency is blaming Democrats in Congress and the partial government shutdowns for this. But it is, again, vowing to deploy body cameras for all agents in the next 60 days.
That footage would have been key to knowing whether the agents followed protocol or not, and to hold the agents accountable, said Lauren Bonds, the executive director of the nonprofit National Police Accountability Project.
“Luckily in both instances there were witnesses, independent witnesses, that observed some things and were able to share some information,” Bonds said. “But it’s really hard to be able to hold ICE agents accountable in any manner if all we’re getting from DHS right now is kind of vague statements about the car being used in a way that was either threatening the ICE agents or, in the case of Maine, threatening the public.”
Bonds said the public needs to keep demanding answers and independent investigations to create a change in policy — like the pause on traffic stops made public Tuesday.
NPR’s Meg Anderson contributed reporting.
Copyright © 2026 NPR
Transcript:
SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
As we mentioned, the second fatal ICE shooting in one week is now prompting a policy shift at the agency. ICE will now suspend most vehicle stops during enforcement. For more details and some context, we turn to NPR immigration correspondent Sergio Martínez-Beltrán. Hey, Sergio.
SERGIO MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN, BYLINE: Hey, Scott.
DETROW: So we just heard about Maine. You are in Houston covering a different fatal ICE shooting there. That shooting also stemmed from a traffic stop. And now we have this news today on a policy change. Tell us about it.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: Yeah. I mean, the Department of Homeland Security is pausing – at least for now – most immigration-related traffic stops. The news was confirmed to us by the office of Maine U.S. Senator Angus King. You know, the two men killed in Houston and Maine had been driving their vehicles when ICE officers attempted to pull them over. In both cases, the two victims were not the intended enforcement target of ICE. Now, DHS told NPR it will not discuss enforcement’s tactics, so we don’t yet know all the details of this change, but Senator King’s office says, this is happening. And this could mark a significant shift in policy. Sarah Saldana is a former ICE acting director under President Obama. She calls it a good start.
SARAH SALDANA: I think it’s a very practical thing to do until the agency can get its officers more properly trained and attuned to what their effort is. Immigration enforcement shouldn’t be a deadly endeavor. It should be a method by which to make sure that people are complying with the law.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: Again, Saldana says that training should include increased and improved training on traffic stops, car pursuits and people’s constitutional rights.
DETROW: Give us a little bit more of the context of what the current policy is for ICE officers when it comes to traffic stops and the use of deadly force.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: So DHS’ policy on paper says deadly force cannot be used solely to prevent someone from fleeing unless the person poses a significant threat of death or serious physical harm to the agent or others. Now, the issue is that in these two last cases, in Maine and Texas, we haven’t seen video evidence that backs up DHS’ claims that in Texas, the man, in their words, weaponized his car against the ICE agent, and that in Maine, the man posed a public safety threat. So advocates, politicians and community members are calling for independent investigations. They’re asking why deadly force was used. Was it justified? Were these drivers posing a threat of death or serious harm?
DETROW: Now one of the big storylines in Minnesota was that the video undercut ICE’s claims of what happened. There’s not a clear picture of what happened in the moments before these two latest shootings, in part because the agents were not wearing body cameras, right?
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: Right. And that footage would have been key to get an understanding of what happened. It’s also key for holding law enforcement agents accountable if they violated protocols. I talked to Lauren Bonds. She directs the nonprofit National Police Accountability Project.
LAUREN BONDS: I think, luckily, in both instances, there were witnesses. But it’s really hard to be able to hold ICE agents accountable in any manner, if, you know, all we’re getting from DHS right now is kind of vague statements about the car being used in a way that was either threatening the ICE agents, or in the case of Maine, threatening the public.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: Bonds says the public needs to keep the pressure on the Trump administration to demand transparency and changes. And remember, after the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, video evidence contradicted DHS’ claims that the two were trying to injure or kill ICE agents.
DETROW: Do we know why these agents in both Maine and in Texas were not wearing body cameras?
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: Yeah. That’s a great question. Politicians are asking the same thing. After the killings of Good and Pretti, the Trump administration vowed to quickly deploy body cameras to immigration agents across the country. But that hasn’t happened. Only about half of the field officers have body cameras, according to DHS. The agency is blaming Democrats in Congress and the partial government shutdowns for this. But the agency, again, is vowing to deploy body cameras for all agents in the next 60 days.
DETROW: NPR’s Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, thank you so much.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: You’re welcome.
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