Unanswered questions in the wake of fatal ICE shooting in Maine
(CNN) — [Breaking news, published at 11:55 a.m. ET]
President Donald Trump on Wednesday overturned the temporary pause on most vehicle stops conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to a White House official.
The abrupt change in guidance in less than 24 hours reveals the ongoing whiplash for ICE agents as they try to reach the administration’s self-imposed goal of 2,000 arrests a day.
CNN reported Tuesday that ICE agents were directed to largely suspend vehicle stops until further notice, according to a source familiar with the guidance.
The guidance applied to agents who fall under Enforcement and Removal Operations, the branch within ICE charged with the arrest and deportation of undocumented immigrants, and imposes a pause on initiating stops, according to the source. Agents were directed to work with partner agencies to conduct a stop if executing a criminal warrant on an individual in a vehicle.
White House border czar Tom Homan insisted it would be a short pause at the White House Tuesday.
[Original story, published at 4:00 a.m. ET]
A day after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were directed to halt most traffic stops in the wake of two fatal shootings by federal officers, President Donald Trump urged them to resume.
Trump’s administration ordered the pause on most ICE traffic stops on Tuesday, after the fatal shootings of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston and Joan Sebastian Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine, prompted calls for independent investigations and reignited criticism of the agency. Both were killed during federal immigration enforcement operations, but neither man was the target of those operations, sources have said.
The nation’s border czar, Tom Homan, on Tuesday characterized the change in traffic stops as a “short pause” rather than a broader administration policy change, and said ICE could do its job in other ways in the interim. But a day later, Trump argued that the stops are essential for cracking down on illegal immigration and doesn’t want them to stop.
“We CANNOT give up one of I.C.E.’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!” Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning.
In the wake of the shootings, the Department of Homeland Security also pledged to “rapidly” deploy body cameras to officers nationally. Here’s what to know about the events unfolding in the aftermath of two deadly ICE shootings in Maine and Texas:
The latest in Biddeford, Maine
- Durán Guerrero, a 26-year-old from Colombia, was killed Monday morning in Biddeford, Maine – the state’s sixth-largest city, situated on the Atlantic Coast. He was authorized to work in the US and had been issued a Social Security number, according to the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition.
- Surveillance footage obtained by The Associated Press appears to show a white sedan, believed to be Durán Guerrero on his way to work, driving in circles near an intersection before an unmarked vehicle blocks its path. Daniel Boucher, who lives near the scene, told CNN he looked outside after hearing gunshots and saw federal agents pull Durán Guerrero’s body from the sedan, which is also captured in the surveillance video.
- The Department of Homeland Security said the ICE officer opened fire after “fearing for public safety” as Durán Guerrero “attempted to flee the scene” in his vehicle. DHS has not provided details on why the officer believed Durán Guerrero posed a threat. The officer involved in the shooting “has nearly a decade of federal law enforcement experience with required training,” ICE said. The spokesman did not provide details on that experience and whether all of it was at ICE.
- Durán Guerrero’s neighbor said the young man, who was headed to work when the shooting happened, lived with his partner and their 3-year-old daughter. “He was a good person,” his neighbor told CNN. On Monday, Karolina Rojas, Durán Guerrero’s partner and the mother of their child, posted a photo tribute to him on social media writing, in Spanish there are no words for her pain, she has many outstanding questions and her “soul aches.”
- The autopsy for Durán Guerrero has been completed, the Maine Office of the Chief Medical Examiner told CNN on Wednesday. No additional details were released because of the ongoing investigation, the office said.
The latest in Houston
- Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, was killed July 7 in Houston. He had been driving to work with three other construction crew members when unmarked vehicles carrying federal agents began following his van, his family said.
- DHS said Salgado Araujo rammed into a law enforcement vehicle and refused to follow several verbal commands before an ICE agent fired his weapon in self-defense. The agency said he attempted to evade arrest during the “targeted operation,” though a source with preliminary details about the incident said he was not the target of the enforcement action.
- Two men who were with Salgado Araujo disputed the government’s account, saying the agents’ vehicles bumped into them and then swayed into the van, forcing them to stop. The agents never identified themselves, the men told attorney Hugo Balderas-Ibarra and Rep. Sylvia Garcia.
- Salgado Araujo’s brother, Victor, who was in the van when the shooting happened, told Texas immigration attorney Ruby Powers that during the incident, an unidentified person approached the passenger side window, said, “Stop,” and immediately fired a weapon, striking Salgado Araujo.
- The three other men who were with Salgado Araujo at the time of the shooting were detained. The Mexican consulate said ICE granted permission for Victor Salgado to attend his brother’s funeral Thursday. And Balderas-Ibarra said he was able to secure U Visa certifications for all three men that will prevent them from being deported.
Multiple investigations underway
In Maine, local officials have asked for a full and impartial probe. The Maine Attorney General is investigating the shooting alongside local and federal authorities.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Sen. Susan Collins of Maine that the agency’s Office of Inspector General’s Boston field office has since taken over the investigation.
In Houston, the DHS’ Office of Inspector General is now leading an investigation into the shooting, according to ICE. And the FBI’s Houston field office is investigating the alleged assault on a federal law enforcement officer.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare’s office has also launched its own investigation into the killing of Salgado Araujo.
And the Houston Police Department has asked the Texas Department of Public Safety to conduct an investigation, saying doing so “will ensure it is independent and transparent.”
Teare said Monday that his office has issued nearly 20 subpoenas for evidence and witness testimony and that federal officials are not sharing evidence with investigators.
Amid the other deaths, Homeland Security Investigations – part of ICE – and the Florida Highway Patrol are also investigating an incident from Tuesday morning where a Mexican national fleeing from federal agents in St. Augustine was struck and killed by a tractor trailer.
The-CNN-Wire
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