▶ Watch Video: Federal officials suspend most vehicle stops during ICE operations after deadly shootings
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been instructed to immediately suspend most vehicle stops during enforcement operations nationwide, except in cases involving serious criminal targets, following fatal shootings in Texas and Maine over the last week, multiple law enforcement sources told CBS News Tuesday morning.The directive applies to ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, the division responsible for civil immigration arrests and removals, but not Homeland Security Investigations, which primarily handles criminal investigations, according to sources. It is a temporary pause while Enforcement and Removal Operations officers receive additional training on vehicle-stop tactics, the sources said."It's not a policy change. It's a temporary pause," Trump administration border czar Tom Homan said later in the day on Fox News.Homan said ICE leadership and DHS "want to look at these last couple of incidents. And look, is there something that could have been done better?" He added, "I'm confident that ICE is well trained in vehicle stops and you're going to see us keep moving forward."In the meantime, ERO officers can still participate in operations involving vehicle stops when working with partner law enforcement agencies targeting criminal suspects who are the subject of judicial warrants, sources said.The shift could have significant operational impacts. Vehicle stops have been a common tactic in ICE enforcement operations under the Trump administration, allowing officers to identify, follow and arrest targeted individuals away from homes or workplaces.In the most recent incident, Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, 25, a Colombian national who was in the country illegally, was shot when he "attempted to flee the scene" Monday when ICE tried to stop him at around 7 a.m. ET in Biddeford, Maine, according to the Department of Homeland Security. "Fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon," DHS said in a statement.While Durán Guerrero was not the target of an operation, ICE agents attempted to pull over the man's car while "conducting targeted surveillance on the last known address of an illegal alien with a final order of removal," DHS said.Durán Guerrero's father, Omar Duran, told CBS News partner Noticias Caracol that his son leaves behind a wife and 3-year-old daughter, adding, he "left the country to build a future for his family.""I only ask God ... that this be resolved in the best way, and that there be justice," Duran said, translated from Spanish. Durán Guerrero had previously been given an order to leave the country, independent Maine Sen. Angus King said Monday. Speaking to CBS News on Tuesday, King called for an independent investigation."I want a full, fair, open, transparent investigation of this, not strictly run by the feds," said King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats. "Unfortunately, the feds don't have the credibility today. The people of Maine are not going to accept an investigation that's run by ICE or at the FBI."A woman places flowers at a makeshift memorial for a man that was fatally shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, on July 14, 2026 in Biddeford, Maine.
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