President Donald Trump has never been one to shy away from sharing how he feels about things, and so it is no surprise he has taken to social media to share his feelings about the idea of ICE taking a break from traffic stops.
Trumps Rejection
On Truth Social, Trump posted, “We CANNOT give up one of I.C.E.’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP! Once we do, we are playing right into the criminal’s hands.” The President went on to talk about the wider purpose of the agency’s operations, adding: “The men and women of ICE are doing a GREAT job, one that has to be done. CRIME IS WAY DOWN IN AMERICA, in many cases with numbers that haven’t been seen in decades.”
After initial reports of the suspension emerged, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) declined to comment, saying the agency is “always evaluating our procedures to keep our officers safe and criminals off our streets.” They then went on to say that they wouldn’t “disclose or discuss law enforcement tactics.”
White House border czar Tom Homan stressed Tuesday that the traffic stop suspensions would only be temporary and that there would be some exceptions to the suspension. The decision came following the ICE-involved shooting in Houston and Biddeford, Maine.
Mills Letter to Congress
On Wednesday morning, Maine’s Governor Janet Mills called upon Congress to immediately take action to reform and rein in ICE following the shooting in Biddeford. In the letter sent to Maine’s congressional delegation, Mills called on Congress to “not simply to share our grief, to express concerns or offer condolences, but to act now to require ICE to respect the rule of law and honor our collective security.”
Before more families are robbed of a loved one, this violence has to end. Before one more community is robbed of its peace and security, this has to end. Before more gunshots shatter another windshield, steal another person’s life and fracture the freedom of all who seek peace, this has to end. Before the fragile American dream memorialized on hopeful parchment two and a half centuries ago is altogether abandoned, this has to end. ICE needs to be fundamentally reformed, and if not, then it is time to abolish it.
On July 13, 2026, a federal agent fatally shot 25-year-old Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero in Biddeford. When ICE tried to stop a vehicle during an enforcement action, the “vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon,” the Department of Homeland Security said.
Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero was not the intended target of the ICE operation. Guerrero, a Colombian national, was authorized to work in the United States and had been issued a Social Security number, according to Presente! Maine.
“He was going to work. He had a Social Security. He was authorized to work,” Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition Executive Director Mufalo Chitam said. “If that was not their target, then we just wonder why a life got lost in the process. So, it’s very disturbing.”
The agent involved in the shooting did not have body cameras, leaving many questions.
Trump’s Agenda
Senior Homeland Security officials have been assessing interim changes to operations on the heels of the fatal shootings in Texas and in Maine but remain under pressure to deliver on Trump’s mass deportation agenda and the self-imposed goal of 2,000 arrests a day.
Neither Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin nor Homan alerted Trump to the pause on traffic stops before it was imposed, according to two people familiar with the chain of events.
After seeing the footage about the temporary end to traffic stops, Trump became irritated and decided to put his foot down and voice his opinion on social media.
By Sheena
Sources:
CNN: Furious Trump overturns suspension of ICE traffic stops amid MAGA criticism
BBC: Trump says ICE agents should not give up traffic stops
WGME: Gov. Mills calls on Congress to rein in ICE after deadly Biddeford shooting
Image by Gage Skidmore Courtesy of Flickr – Creative Commons
