Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials have been ordered to suspend most vehicle inspections unless they involve people who have committed serious crimes, CBS News reports. Sources of the TV channel spoke about an internal document that agency agents received in connection with the death of two people due to open shooting by agents in the states of Texas and Maine.
Last week, on July 7, in Houston, Texas, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents shot and killed 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican immigrant who had lived in the city for more than 30 years. According to federal law enforcement officers, the fire was opened because he allegedly “attempted to ram” their car with his van and run over one of the agents. The Department of Homeland Security later confirmed that Araujo was not the original target of the immigration raid.
A similar situation occurred in the city of Biddeford (Maine) on July 13. There, ICE agents shot and killed 26-year-old Colombian citizen Juan Sebastian Guerrero – according to the federal agency, he was trying to hide from law enforcement, but authorities later admitted that he was also not the designated target of the operation.
Sources told CBS News that the directive issued in response to the incidents applies to the Immigration Enforcement and Removal Operations Office (ERO), but not to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which primarily handles criminal investigations.
It is expected that vehicle searches will be limited until ICE agents receive additional training, the channel's sources note. At the same time, they will be allowed to participate in search operations carried out jointly with other law enforcement agencies against specific individuals in whose name judicial warrants have been issued.
“A change in policy can have a significant impact on operations. Vehicle stops were a common ICE tactic under the Trump administration, allowing officers to target, pursue and arrest wanted individuals far from their homes or workplaces,” CBS News noted.
Independent Senator from Maine Angus King called for an investigation into the death of a resident of his state as a result of an ICE shooting in an interview with CBS News. Guerrero was shot and killed while leaving an address in a car that was listed on a deportation order but was not subject to it.
“I want this investigation to be complete, fair, open and transparent, and not just conducted by federal authorities. Unfortunately, today there is no trust in the federal authorities. The people of Maine will not agree to an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the FBI,” King said.
Since Trump returned to the White House in 2025 and launched his campaign against illegal immigration, at least 22 people have been targeted by agents, The New York Times (NYT) writes. Six people, including three United States citizens, were killed in these episodes, most of which occurred when police opened fire on people in cars, the publication emphasizes.
Earlier this year, US citizens Renee Goode and Alex Pretty were killed by Department of Homeland Security agents in controversial circumstances in Minneapolis, Minnesota. These two incidents, which occurred approximately two weeks apart, escalated the conflict between federal and local authorities in the field of migration and also sparked a wave of protests across the country.
