Federal immigration officers across the country have reportedly been ordered to cease most vehicle stops after the recent ICE involved shootings in Maine and Texas.
Read more Lindsey Graham’s Sister Appointed to Fill Senate Seat
According to The Daily Wire, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees were told “no more vehicle stops for now.”
Multiple federal sources confirmed the new directive to Fox News’s Bill Melugin, who reported on X that only vehicle stops targeting the most dangerous criminal aliens may continue. Officers are also required to have a criminal warrant and must work with outside agencies to pull over the target, the Daily Wire reported.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said in a statement Tuesday that she had called for the changes.
“While the investigation of the Biddeford shooting is not yet complete, it raises sufficient critical questions that I spoke with DHS Secretary Mullin last night and urged him to cease all non-urgent vehicle stops,” Collins posted on X.
The new directive will hamper ICE operations and make their work more dangerous as agents need to obtain a judicial warrant to enter a suspect’s home and illegals often have access to weapons in their home. A judicial warrant was not previously required for vehicle stops.
“Numbers are going down, we can’t do sh-t,” an agency source told The Daily Wire’s Jenny Taer.
These changes are reportedly temporary until ICE agents receive new training on properly conducting vehicle stops.
In the past week, two people have been killed by ICE in shootings in Texas and Maine in incidents that began as vehicle stops.
In Houston, Texas, on June 7 an illegal alien from Mexico was shot during a targeted enforcement operation.
According to DHS, the driver of that vehicle, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, rammed an ICE law enforcement vehicle while attempting to evade arrest.
Homeland Security said in a statement that Araujo had refused to follow multiple verbal commands and attempted to run over an ICE law enforcement officer resulting in the officer firing his weapon.
The victim of the shooting in Biddeford, Maine, Monday morning, was apparently not the target of the immigration enforcement operation. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) initially said that Homeland Security officials told him the victim was a 26-year old man had been ordered to leave the country and had “weaponized the vehicle.” Later, King said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the man who was shot was not the person ICE was trying to arrest. The name of the deceased has not yet been released.
Read more Secretary of State Rubio Invites Countries to Summit Addressing Far-Left Terrorism
“ICE was conducting targeted surveillance on the last known address of an illegal alien with a final order of removal,” DHS said in a statement late Monday afternoon.
An illegal alien departed the residence in a vehicle. ICE law enforcement attempted to conduct a vehicle stop. The vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon.
The driver of the vehicle was struck, and emergency services were immediately contacted. He passed away from his injuries.
The Biddeford Police Department and FBI responded to the scene. DHS OIG has been notified and like all discharge of firearms this will be investigated. This is a developing situation, and we will update the public when more information is available.
An eye witness who drove by the scene as it was enfolding, told the Portland Press Herald that the driver was told multiple times to stop by an ICE agent, but instead of stopping, he put the car in drive and drove toward the officer.
“As I was approaching, you could see flashing blue lights,” the witness said. “The ICE agent was yelling and drew his weapon,” he continued. “And he kept yelling and yelling and warning the person driving—which is when the car was put into drive and was trying to hit the ICE officer—and he fired probably four shots at him.”
The shooting sparked immediate protests and calls for accountability from local Democrats and illegal immigrant rights groups.
A mob of several hundred anti-ICE agitators marched down the street chanting “no more hate, no more fear!” and attempted to storm Sen. Susan Collins’ (R-Maine) office. Five Biddeford police officers arrived at the scene and reportedly pushed through the mobbed entryway and placed themselves between the agitators and the door.
According to DHS, immigration agents routinely face coordinated campaigns of violence against them as they carry out their law enforcement duties. As of July 6, the department reported a 1,300 percent increase in assaults against them, a 3,300 percent increase in vehicular attacks, and an 8,000 percent increase in death threats.
“These dangerous attempts to evade arrest have surged since sanctuary politicians, including Governor Newsom, have encouraged illegal aliens to evade arrest and provided guides advising illegal aliens how to recognize ICE, block entry, and defy arrest,” DHS stated in January.
Sen. Collins told Fox News Tuesday: “There’s no doubt that ICE needs to improve its performance, but those who are calling for ICE to be abolished are ignoring absolutely vital safety work that ICE does.”
Read more Federal Regulators Direct Banks to Scrutinize Loans to Illegal Aliens
