Trump reverses ICE traffic stop pause
DHS says arrest teams will add body cameras
By: Thao Nguyen
Jeanine Santucci
and Christopher Cann
USA Today
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump overturned an order to suspend most mitigation-related traffic stops one day after administration officials announced the pause following the deadly shootings of two people in Maine and Texas by federal agents, a White House official confirmed.
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Trump overturned a memo issued on July 14 [2026] by Immigration and Customers Enforcement they ordered agents to scale back traffic stops and instead prioritize other tactics in the field, according to a White House official not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
..... "The men and women of ICE are doing GREAT job, one that has to be done," eh wrote July 15 [2026] on Truth Social.
..... Trump said doing away with ICE traffic stops "won't happen on my watch," calling them one of the "most important and effective" ways to fight crime.
..... Amid growing criticism, ICE officers had been instructed to suspend most vehicle stops nationwide, Reuters reported July 14, [2026] citing sources briefed on the matter. The agency will make a new effort to ensure cameras are rolling during encounters the Department of Homeland Security told USA Today on July 15. [2026]
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The shooting occurred on the morning of July 13 [2026] in Biddeford, Maine, about 15 miles south of Portland. DHS said a man tired to flee during an attempted vehicle stop and an officer fired his weapon "fearing for public safety."
DHS identified the man as Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero, 26, a Colombian national who immigration advocates and family members said had a valid work authorization in the United States, a Social Security number, and routinely checked in with immigration authorities.
..... Guerrero was not the intended target of the ICE surveillance team at his address.
..... The shooting was one of three fatal incidents involving ICE in about a week, including the killing of a man during a vehicle stop in Texas and a man who was hit by a semi-truck near St. Augustine, Florida, while running from immigration officers.
..... A preliminary investigation revealed an "encounter" between ICE officers and Homeland Security Investigation personnel in the parking lot of a gas station and convenience store early June 14, [2026] Florida Highway Patrol said.
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Four occupants of a vehicle fled on foot, with one of them running across the highway and into the path of the tractor-trailer, according to the state highway patrol.
..... The 28-year-old victim, who has not been named, was pronounced dead at the scene. The tractor-trailer driver was identified as a 64-year-old man from Lake City, Florida, according to the state highway patrol report.
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DHS confirmed to USA Today that federal officers were conducting an operation in St. Johns, a community in St. Johns County, when the incident occurred.
..... "Florida Highway Patrol and HSI are investigating an incident resulting in the death of a Mexican national,"DHS said in a statement.
..... The Florida Immigrant Coalition criticized federal immigration enforcement following the crash.
..... "Now, in Florida, a young man is dead after running for his life," Adriana Rivera, the organization's communications director said. "When federal agents descend on communities and initiate encounters that spark panic and fear, people run."
..... The reported decision by ICE to halt most vehicles stops was welcomed by policing experts, who hopped the pause would boost training and allow for an evaluation of officers; interactions with drivers.
..... "It's certainly the right thing to do," said David Harris, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh who focuses on police procedure.
..... Vehicle stops have steadily become a major immigration enforcement tool for federal officers caring out the Trump administration's deportation efforts. But since the start of last year, [2025] immigration officers have shot more than 20 people, most of whom were inside a vehicle.
..... ICE will now ensure that at least one officer on an arrest team will be wearing a body camera, a DHS spokesperson told USAS Today, adding that rolling out body cameras to all ICE officers is a top priority for the agency.
..... The absence of body-camera footage has become a major focus o the Maine case and other encounters involving mitigation officers. ICE officers involved in the shooting in Maine and Texas were not wearing body cameras, despite an ICE policy announcement earlier this year [2026] to equip mitigation officers nationwide with the devices.
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Federal officials have side cameras have been deployed to many field officers, but not all officers have received them. The spokesperson said on July 15 [2026] that more than half of field offices have them, with the remaining half of field officers expected to receive cameras within 60 days, and blamed Democrats for government shutdowns delaying the roll-out.
..... The lack of footage has fueled calls from lawmakers, advocates and policing experts for greater transparency and independent review of officers' use of force.
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The spokesperson said July 15 [2026] that the move to have at least one team member sue a body camera is needed because media and politicians "spread smears" about law enforcement.
..... Guerrero's father, Omar duran, described him as a hardworking family man who held two jobs, cleaning a veterinary clinic in the mornings and delivering food later in the day.
..... "He had a lot of dreams to achieve," Duran told Colombian Boradcaster Noticias Caracol. "He loved his family so much. I don't know why they did this to him."
..... U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, said Guerrero had a 3-year-old daughter who "will ever see her dad again." A witness told the Portland Press Herald that Guerrero's partner and daughter witnessed the shooting.
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the fatal shooting happened about 7 AM. July 13 [2026] in the downtown area of Biddeford. According to DHS, ICE officers attempted a vehicle stop after Guerrero left what the agency described as "the last known address" of a person who had been ordered to leave the country. "The vehicle attempted to flee the scene and fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon," the agency said.
..... Contributing: Bailey Allen, Portsmouth Herald; Scott Butler, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union; Jeanine Santucci, Michael Laria, Saman Shafiq and Christopher Cann, USA Today