ICE agents shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, a Mexican national who'd lived in the US for 35 years, in Houston on July 7. Six days later, they shot and killed Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, 26, a Colombian national, in Biddeford, Maine. ICE wasn't looking for either man when agents opened fire. Neither ICE agent wore a body camera. On July 14, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin ordered ICE to suspend most vehicle stops nationwide, after Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) called him to urge the halt. Trump was not notified before the directive went out. On July 15, he reversed it on Truth Social, calling traffic stops "one of I.C.E.'s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools." Since January 2025, immigration agents have shot at people at least 39 times, killing 11.

1. Traffic Stops Stay (President Trump, Border Czar Tom Homan)

Trump says pulling back on traffic stops would hand criminals an advantage.

Abandoning traffic stops would hand criminals an advantage, Trump says. Within hours of DHS announcing the pause, Trump posted on Truth Social that suspending stops would be "playing right into the criminal's hands" and instructed agents to "be judicious, fair and smart, and go back and do your very important job."

The White House insists ICE agents have the training. Border Czar Tom Homan called the pause "not a policy change" and said he's "confident that ICE is well trained in vehicle stops." After Trump pushed back, the administration reversed course entirely.

ICE blames both victims. DHS says Salgado Araujo "ignored commands and attempted to ram the officer with his vehicle," prompting an agent to fire. ICE made a similar "weaponized vehicle" claim in the Maine case. The administration's argument is that agents in both instances faced an immediate physical threat.

2. Pause and Fix (Sen. Susan Collins, DHS Sec. Markwayne Mullin)

Collins called DHS directly, got them to pause — then Trump reversed it.

Two deaths moved a Republican senator to push back. Collins called Mullin after Biddeford, telling him the shooting "raises sufficient critical questions," and urged him to "cease all non-urgent vehicle stops." Mullin ordered the pause within hours, and Collins expressed encouragement that DHS agreed.

DHS called it a temporary safety review. The pause covered only ERO-conducted vehicle stops. Cases involving serious criminal targets were exempt. Officers could still stop vehicles if 287(g)-trained local law enforcement was present. Mullin framed it as temporary, pending additional training.

No one recorded either shooting, and that's the problem. Both happened without any video because neither agent had a body camera, making it impossible for anyone outside ICE to verify the agency's accounts. Rep. Christian Menefee (D-Houston) said the absence of cameras reflects the Trump administration's own priorities, not equipment shortages.

3. ICE Can't Investigate Itself (House Democrats, Policing Experts, Victims' Families)

Democrats and policing experts say two deaths in one week prove these are systemic tactics, not two accidents.

Two shootings in one week is a pattern, Democrats say. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said ICE "brutally killed another unarmed person" in Maine and that the back-to-back deaths were "a pattern of violent immigration enforcement actions" that "shocks the conscience."

Policing experts say ICE tactics violate mainstream standards. Geoffrey Alpert, a policing researcher at the University of South Carolina who has taught at the FBI National Academy, said: "Most of the policies I've seen around the country tell officers you don't shoot at vehicles except as a last resort."

The families dispute the official accounts entirely. ICE says both men tried to ram agents with their vehicles. Salgado Araujo's family says he likely panicked when unmarked vehicles approached his work van and feared theft of his tools. Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare is conducting an independent investigation.

Mexico and Colombia are escalating internationally. Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum announced efforts to file criminal charges in U.S. courts over deaths of Mexican nationals in ICE operations. Colombia's President Gustavo Petro called the Biddeford shooting "a targeted killing" and accused ICE of treating Durán Guerrero as "an inferior being without rights."

Where This Lands

Trump's reversal is in effect — ICE agents are back to conducting traffic stops as of today. Collins and Mullin's brief pause is gone. Harris County DA Sean Teare is moving forward with an independent investigation in Texas, and Rep. Pramila Jayapal says ICE can't investigate its own shootings fairly. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, has called the pattern "a killing spree." At least 39 shootings since January 2025 are on the record. In neither of these two cases did the shooter wear a body camera. The accountability gap isn't going away.

Sources