The president restored the immigration enforcement tactic after Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin temporarily restricted vehicle stops in response to deadly encounters in Maine and Texas.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump has reversed a temporary pause on Immigration and Customs Enforcement traffic stops, allowing agents to resume the enforcement tactic after it was restricted following two fatal shootings.
The decision was confirmed by an unnamed source familiar with the matter who spoke with ABC News.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin had ordered the pause after ICE agents were involved in deadly vehicle-stop encounters in Maine and Texas.
The directive instructed agents to suspend traffic stops and prioritize other immigration enforcement methods while the Department of Homeland Security reviewed its procedures.
Multiple sources said the restriction was always intended to be temporary.
During the pause, ICE agents could still participate in vehicle stops conducted alongside local law enforcement officers working through the agency’s 287(g) program.
That program allows participating state and local officers to perform certain immigration enforcement duties under ICE supervision.
A DHS spokesperson declined to discuss specific law enforcement tactics but said the department continually evaluates its procedures to protect officers and prevent criminals from remaining in American communities.
Trump publicly urged ICE to resume the tactic before the pause was formally lifted, describing traffic stops as one of the agency’s most effective enforcement tools.
“we CANNOT give up one of I.C.E.’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP! … I.C.E., be judicious, fair and smart,” Trump wrote in an earlier post about the enforcement dispute, “and go back and do your very important job. Keep those Crime Stat Records coming! Remember, you are loved and respected in America.”
The president said abandoning traffic stops would make it easier for people sought by immigration authorities to evade arrest.
Trump also used his Truth Social statement to criticize former President Joe Biden’s border policies and argue that stronger enforcement remained necessary.
“The Open Border Policy of Sleepy Joe Biden allowed 25,000,000 people to pour into our Country,” Trump wrote, “unchecked and unvetted. Many were Criminals, and we have to get them out.”
“In order to do this, 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!” he continued. “Once we do, we are playing right into the criminal’s hands.”
The reversal restores ICE’s authority to conduct vehicle stops as part of the Trump administration’s broader campaign to arrest and remove illegal immigrants.
The department has not publicly detailed whether revised safeguards, identification procedures or supervisory requirements will accompany the renewed use of the tactic.
Trump’s instructions emphasized that agents should exercise judgment while carrying out the stops, directing ICE personnel to be “judicious, fair and smart.”
The decision ends the temporary restriction imposed after the Maine and Texas shootings while allowing DHS to continue reviewing enforcement practices intended to protect both officers and the public.
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