An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer’s badge and weapon seen during a vehicle inspection on Georgia Ave. in Washington, D.C., August 30, 2025 (Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to resume traffic stops on Wednesday, reversing a one-day pause on the policy after officers killed two immigrants who were in their vehicles in Texas and Maine.
In post on social mediaTrump called the practice of federal immigration officers enforcing laws during traffic stops “one of ICE’s most important and effective tools.”
This was brought about by the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation campaign raise in the number of deaths by immigration officers, including at roadside stops.
Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security ordered all federal immigration officials to halt vehicle executions following the murders of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, in Houston on July 7 and Johan Sebastián, 25, in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday.
Both men were detained in their vehicles when federal immigration officers shot them. DHS said none of them were initial targets for immigration enforcement.
Monday’s shooting caused demand from Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who is in the middle of a tight re-election race, to ICE to “cease all non-urgent vehicle detentions.”
Trump said Democrats want to halt immigration enforcement at traffic stops.
“The Radical Left Dumocrats would like to see it done, but it will not happen during my term,” he said. “ICE, be reasonable, fair and smart, come back and do your very important job.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to specific questions about the president’s executive order. White House spokespeople did not immediately respond to States Newsroom’s request for comment.
Congress calls for action
Monday’s shooting sparked calls for action among lawmakers, with the Congressional Latino Caucus advocating for dismantling ICE and Maine’s congressional delegation pressing for an independent watchdog to conduct an expedited investigation.
“Given the gravity of the situation and the understandable concern of the Biddeford community, we urge this investigation to be made a priority” – Maine Delegation he wrote to the DHS Office of Inspector General.
“Timely and substantive responses will be critical to bringing closure to the grieving community and ensuring that federal law enforcement activities are conducted in a safe, lawful, and respectful manner.”
Collins and independent senator Angus King also asked the Justice Department to cooperate with state and local law enforcement to investigate the fatal shooting.
International outrage
Sebastián was a Colombian immigrant with a legal work permit. Salgado Araujo was a Mexican national who had been in the United States for several decades and was the father of three U.S. citizen children.
Both of their killings sparked outrage in their communities as well as among Mexican and Colombian leaders.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro called Sebastián’s death, “the murder of a Latin American Colombian by the U.S. government.”
In a social media post written in Spanish, Petro said he expected to hear from Trump about the shooting.
“They killed him because he believed he was an inferior being with no rights, and as a person he had all the rights afforded to a human being simply because he was born, and he was a citizen with rights in the U.S.,” he said.
He in addition that “ICE is an organization that should be condemned on a global scale.”
President of Mexico Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Monday that her government will file complaints with the Department of Justice not only over Salgado Araujo’s death, but also in states where Mexican citizens have died in U.S. federal detention facilities or during immigration enforcement.
“I don’t think this is an acceptable situation for anyone,” she said, according to the Texas Tribune. “It’s a problem for all Mexicans.”
