President Donald Trump declared Wednesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should keep relying on traffic stops as a major enforcement tool, defending the practice after a string of deadly encounters involving immigration officers, including a recent fatal shooting of a Colombian illegal immigrant in Maine.
In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump commended ICE agents and pushed the agency to maintain vehicle stops, even as officials examine the approach after recent events in Maine, Texas, and Florida.
"The men and women of ICE are doing a Great job, one that has to be done," Trump wrote. "We must be strong, tough, and smart, and we Cannot give up one of I.C.E.'s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, The Traffic Stop!"
Trump warned that giving up the tactic would seriously harm the mission to remove criminals from the United States.
"Once we do, we are playing right into the criminal's hands," he wrote. "I.C.E., be judicious, fair, and smart, and go back and do your very important job."
Trump also stepped up his attacks on former President Joe Biden’s immigration policies, stating in the post that millions of illegal immigrants had poured into the country without any controls and that ICE must stay "strong, tough, and smart" while executing deportations.
As the Epoch Times notes further, Trump's remarks come as immigration officials review vehicle-stop procedures following several deadly incidents involving ICE agents.
Border czar Tom Homan told Fox News on July 14 that ICE had temporarily paused most vehicle stops nationwide while the agency examines whether changes to training or tactics are needed.
"It's not a policy change. It's a temporary pause," Homan said. "ICE leadership along with DHS believes they want to look at these last couple incidents and look: Is there something that could have been done better? Is there any training that can be improved?"
Homan said the review was unlikely to affect the pace of immigration-related arrests and expressed confidence that ICE agents would continue to use traffic stops when necessary, particularly in cases involving dangerous suspects.
"If we can arrest that alien outside that vehicle and take that two-ton weapon away from them, that's good in some instances," Homan said. "Other instances, we're still going to need to do vehicle stops for a significant criminal."
The review follows a July 13 shooting in Biddeford, Maine, where an ICE officer fatally shot a Colombian national during a traffic stop after the man allegedly attempted to flee. The Department of Homeland Security said the agent opened fire while "fearing for public safety."
The Maine incident came days after another fatal shooting involving ICE agents in Houston. Authorities said officers were searching for a different individual when they attempted to stop a vehicle driven by Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who allegedly rammed an ICE vehicle, prompting an officer to fire in self-defense.
A third man died in Florida on Tuesday after being struck by a tractor-trailer while fleeing immigration and other federal officers, according to authorities.
The recent incidents have intensified debate over ICE's enforcement tactics.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she had urged Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to suspend "non-urgent vehicle stops" following the Maine shooting and welcomed the department's decision to review the practice.
Collins joined Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) and Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Jared Golden (D-Maine) in requesting an independent investigation by the Department of Homeland Security inspector general.
Trump, meanwhile, cast traffic stops as an indispensable part of law enforcement, calling on ICE agents to "keep those Crime Stat Records coming" and assuring them that they are "loved and respected in America."
Jack Phillips and Troy Myers contributed to this report.