People protest outside of a federal immigration office in Scarborough, Maine, on July 14, 2026, after a man was fatally shot a day earlier in Biddeford, Maine, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The victim has been identified as Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26-year-old man from Colombia. Ryan Murphy/Getty Images
ICE is pulling back on vehicle stops after 2 fatal shootings
A new enforcement directive follows growing scrutiny from lawmakers as questions mount about recent killings and the agency's tactics.
The Homeland Security Department on Tuesday ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to cease vehicle-related enforcement stops following the deadly shootings of two men in their vehicles, according to multiple media reports.
A DHS spokesperson did not respond directly to States Newsroom's question about what some reports characterized as a new nationwide order.
"We are always evaluating our procedures to keep our officers safe and criminals off our streets," the spokesperson said. "We will not disclose or discuss law enforcement tactics."
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who is up for reelection in one of the nation's most closely watched races, said on social media Tuesday that she spoke with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Monday night and "urged him to cease all non-urgent vehicle stops." ICE officers killed a 26-year-old Colombian man with legal status in his vehicle in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday.
As the Trump administration aims to carry out mass deportations, aggressive enforcement has occurred across the interior of the country, with at least 21 shootings involving federal immigration agents. At least 10 of those incidents have been deadly.
Monday's shooting in Maine, coupled with another by federal immigration officers who on July 7 killed 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national, during a traffic stop in Houston, renewed congressional anger and demands for answers.
Neither man was an initial person of interest for immigration enforcement, DHS said.
Hispanic Caucus calls for abolishing ICE
On Tuesday, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus condemned federal immigration agents for the recent shootings, calling for congressional oversight and the dismantling of ICE.
"An agency that acts as though it is above the law cannot be reformed at the margins," said Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y. "You cannot put a Band-Aid on a system that is fundamentally broken. We must abolish ICE."
"Here we are again, a brown man, a Latino, killed," said Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus said the recent killings reflect a pattern in immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, coupled with conflicting statements from the Department of Homeland Security and independent video recordings of the incidents.
The department came under intense scrutiny after federal immigration officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January, Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Minnesota prosecutors announced Monday that they started receiving evidence from the federal government about the killings after the Trump administration initially refused to turn over evidence to local law enforcement.
Espaillat said members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus will hold a field hearing in Houston on July 24 with House Democrats on the Homeland Security Committee. Democrats plan to focus the hearing on the killing of Salgado Araujo, a construction worker, husband and father of three U.S. citizen children.
ICE to get billions
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, said Congress must not only use its subpoena power to conduct oversight but also freeze hiring at ICE and refuse to fund the agency.
Congressional Republicans funded ICE and Border Patrol with $70 billion through September 2029 through a special legislative process after Democrats refused to fund DHS for fiscal 2026.
Additionally, congressional Republicans last year approved roughly $170 billion for DHS to conduct immigration enforcement and hire more ICE and Border Patrol agents.
"We have to disband ICE in this Congress," Castro said. "Otherwise, these killings will continue. There will be another victim in a few days or a few weeks."
Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, said she has a meeting with Mullin this week, where she plans to ask questions related to the Texas and Maine shootings.
"This is a human life," she said of Salgado Araujo. "He was not the target. He had no criminal record. He may not even be the right man. Those are very troubling questions for everybody."