ICE to Pause Most Traffic Stops Following Pair of Deadly Shootings, Sources Say

The pause follows deadly shootings in Houston and Biddeford, Maine, both of which involved agents attempting to stop someone in a vehicle, video evidence shows. The Department of Homeland Security has claimed that both of the drivers attempted to run over law enforcement agents, but has not provided evidence to back up those claims. 

Under President Donald Trump’s second term, ICE agents have been involved in a string of shootings, several of them involving people in vehicles in situations that critics have said involved agents defying their training. “When ICE does a traffic stop, they [agents] have limited authorities, because they’re supposed to be immigration related,” a former ICE agent, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution, told TIME. “We weren’t supposed to give chase to anyone [in a traffic stop] unless there’s a fleeing felon, and we know for a fact there’s a felon who is going to endanger other lives.”