BS BRIEF:
- “The Radical Left Dumocrats would like to see this done, but it won’t happen on my watch.” — President Donald Trump
- ICE briefly paused most non-urgent traffic stops after two fatal encounters in Texas and Maine involving men who were reportedly not the intended targets of enforcement operations.
- Trump called traffic stops “one of ICE’s most important and effective crime fighting tools” and publicly ordered agents to resume using them as part of the administration’s deportation and border-security strategy.
President Donald Trump is making it clear that the federal government’s immigration crackdown is not going into reverse.
Just one day after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials suspended most non-urgent traffic stops following two controversial fatal shootings, Trump publicly demanded agents get back to work and continue using what he called one of their most effective enforcement tools.
Writing on Truth Social Wednesday morning, Trump praised ICE officers and argued that America is seeing dramatic reductions in crime because of aggressive enforcement efforts.
“The men and women of ICE are doing a GREAT job, one that has to be done,” Trump wrote. “CRIME IS WAY DOWN IN AMERICA, in many cases with numbers that haven’t been seen in decades.”
The president blamed the immigration crisis on what he called the “Open Border Policy of Sleepy Joe Biden,” claiming millions of migrants entered the country during the previous administration.
“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!” Trump declared. “Once we do, we are playing right into the criminal’s hands.”
Trump reserved some of his sharpest criticism for Democrats. “The Radical Left Dumocrats would like to see this done, but it won’t happen on my watch,” he wrote. “I.C.E., be judicious, fair and smart, and go back and do your very important job.”
The controversy erupted after two deadly encounters involving ICE operations in less than a week.
In Houston, 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was killed during an ICE traffic stop on July 7. Reports indicate he was not the primary target of the operation. In Maine, 26-year-old Colombian national Joan Sebastian Guerrero was fatally shot during another ICE traffic stop Monday. Federal officials said Guerrero attempted to flee, creating what agents believed was a danger to the public.
The incidents triggered criticism from immigration activists, Democratic lawmakers and some local officials, leading DHS to temporarily halt most non-essential vehicle stops while reviewing procedures. Maine Sen. Susan Collins was among those calling for changes after the Maine shooting.
Meanwhile, another immigration-related death drew headlines this week in Florida when a Mexican national reportedly fled from federal agents during an operation and was struck by a semi-truck while crossing a highway. That incident added fuel to an already heated national debate over immigration enforcement tactics.
The Trump administration, however, appears determined to stay the course. Officials argue that targeted traffic stops remain a critical tool for locating criminal suspects, fugitive illegal aliens, gang members and individuals with outstanding deportation orders. Supporters of the administration point out that ICE’s mission became significantly more difficult during the Biden years as millions entered the country illegally and interior enforcement was scaled back.
