The Trump administration asked officers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, to suspend most vehicle stops after they killed two people in separate shootings within a week, sparking a wave of criticism against the agency's law enforcement policies.

The administration's retreat from confrontational enforcement methods came after an ICE officer shot and killed a Colombian driver last Monday in Maine, a week after another officer shot and killed a driver in Texas, amid fears of renewed protests that began last winter after two people were killed in Minnesota.

Fears grew Tuesday after another man, 28, was killed when a trailer truck struck him as he fled from immigration and other security officers in Florida. The suspension of vehicle stops allows exceptions for executing a criminal arrest warrant or working with partner agencies.

However, President Trump stated that ICE should continue traffic stops after the Maine and Texas incidents. He wrote on his Truth Social platform: 'We cannot abandon one of ICE's most important and effective crime-fighting tools, namely traffic stops, in order to remove criminals from our country!'

A spokesman for Maine Senator Angus King, Matthew Felling, said he was also informed by the Department of Homeland Security that ICE would suspend arrests.

This calmer approach contrasts with the violent and threatening tactics of previous administration campaigns in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Minneapolis, as well as crisis management efforts broadcast on camera by former Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Czar Tom Homan, after the killing of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota. Since then, administration officials have sought to reduce controversy ahead of the midterm congressional elections.

Trump's base and some of his advisers objected to this retreat, prompting the White House to renew pressure on the Department of Homeland Security to speed up the pace of immigrant arrests in recent weeks. The recent deaths have reignited this debate, shaking up key Senate races and amplifying Democratic demands for comprehensive reform of interior immigration enforcement.

Contradictory statements

Hundreds of people protested in Maine on Tuesday against the police killing of Colombian immigrant Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero, 25.

The Department of Homeland Security said that 'out of concern for public safety,' an officer shot and killed Duran Guerrero while officers were monitoring a home of a person believed to be in the United States illegally and facing a final deportation order. It explained that when ICE tried to stop a car driven by a person leaving the home, the person tried to flee in the car, and the officer opened fire.

This marks a shift because Homeland Security Secretary Markauan Mullin previously said the officer shot after the man tried to use his car as a weapon. Maine's congressional delegation asked the Trump administration for a 'thorough, transparent, and swift investigation.'

Questions surround the shooting of Duran Guerrero, which is at least the ninth time ICE has used deadly force since Trump began his hardline immigration crackdown. A spokesperson for the agency said in a statement: 'We are always evaluating our procedures to ensure the safety of our officers and to remove criminals from our streets. We will not disclose or discuss law enforcement methods.'

Homan said the investigation should take its course. He said: 'If officers acted improperly or illegally, they will be held accountable.' The Maine Attorney General's office confirmed it is cooperating with federal agencies to investigate the incident.

Electoral repercussions

Republican Senator Susan Collins said Mullin informed her that the DHS Office of Inspector General is conducting an investigation in coordination with the FBI.

The shootings quickly became a central issue in several competitive Democratic primaries, revealing divisions over how far to expand changes to immigration policies. Republicans plan to use Democratic calls to abolish ICE to portray them as extremists, similar to the 'defund the police' slogan that spread in 2020.

Democrats seeking to unseat Collins in the midterm elections on November 5 have tried to tie her to ICE's methods, which have drawn scrutiny and public ridicule. Later, Collins stated that while ICE's performance needed improvement, abolishing it would make the country less safe.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who is challenging Collins for her seat, described the ICE officers involved in the shooting as 'thugs.' She said during a vigil in Lewiston: 'This agency is broken, and we need to return to a time when the rule of law united us all regardless of political affiliations.'