On July 14 a directive was sent from the headquarters of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to all ICE agents to immediately suspend all vehicle stops. In particular the directive applies to the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), which is responsible for civil immigration arrests and removals. However, the directive does not apply to other agencies such as the DHS division called Homeland Security Investigations, which primarily deals with criminal investigations. Lawmakers, experts in law enforcement, and former ICE officials have all called to investigate the agency’s aggressive tactics, its use of force policy, and its training methods.
Little is being revealed about the decision process behind issuing the directive, but many point to a phone call by Maine’s Senator Susan Collins who is in a tough reelection campaign. On the evening of July 13 Collins called Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and forcefully demanded that Mullin end “all non-urgent vehicle stops.” Earlier that day ICE agents shot and killed Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a Colombian national living at the time in Biddeford, Maine.