President Donald Trump has reversed a temporary halt — a severe restriction on immigration officers performing vehicle stops after two such stops turned deadly.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were reportedly very unhappy at the sudden rule change, as vehicle stops are among their most effective ways to catch suspects. Trump agreed with them and noted that the government cannot play into the hands of criminals and violent attackers.
“The men and women of ICE are doing a GREAT job, one that has to be done,” Trump insisted Wednesday in a post on Truth Social. “CRIME IS WAY DOWN IN AMERICA, in many cases with numbers that haven’t been seen in decades. The Open Border Policy of Sleepy Joe Biden allowed 25,000,000 people to pour into our Country, unchecked and unvetted. Many were Criminals, and we have to get them out.”
This led him to the main point of his post. “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!” the president stated emphatically. “Once we do, we are playing right into the criminal’s hands. The Radical Left Dumocrats would like to see this done, but it won’t happen on my watch. I.C.E., be judicious, fair and smart, and go back and do your very important job. Keep those Crime Stat Records coming! Remember, you are loved and respected in America. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Related: Deadly Illegal Alien Truck Driver Sentenced to Less Than 5 Years
Border czar Tom Homan told Fox News on Tuesday that he personally verified ICE agents do have to receive extensive training on traffic stops, and he thought that further training was not necessary. The problem is with the illegal alien criminals, not with the federal officers.
So what caused all the furor to begin with? About a week ago, ICE in Houston tried to stop Mexican illegal alien Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who weaponized his car against the agents, causing one officer to shoot him. Then, on July 13, a Colombian illegal alien in Maine tried to run over an ICE agent during a vehicle stop, causing the agent to shoot through the windshield and kill the alien. The two attacks highlight the constant near-deadly assaults on federal immigration officers, both by illegal aliens and by leftist activists. But they also convinced the Department of Homeland Security leadership to put a temporary freeze on vehicle stops with the excuse that more training is needed. The White House disagreed, as seen above.
The likelihood is that Trump heard opinions from people who have done a lot of fieldwork, like Homan, warning him that ending almost all vehicle stops would make it much more difficult for ICE to do its job. Here is interesting information from Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin, who said that around 90% of targets are arrested at vehicle stops:
In speaking with numerous ICE sources today, most are expressing frustration that this will cause their arrest numbers to fall off a cliff while in effect. A large majority of their arrests involve vehicle stops. They will now largely have to rely on court arrests, detainer… https://t.co/wQFjXQmozD
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) July 14, 2026
Trump made the right call in resuming these vehicle stops. May God keep ICE agents safe.
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