Trump reverses ICE's nationwide pause on vehicle stops a day after it took effect

President Donald Trump overturned a nationwide suspension of most Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicle stops on July 15, about a day after the agency told officers the pause was in effect, according to a White House official cited by CNN.

The suspension had been ordered on July 14. Multiple law enforcement sources told CBS News that ICE agents were instructed to immediately halt most vehicle stops during enforcement operations nationwide, except in cases involving serious criminal targets, while the agency retrained officers on vehicle-stop tactics. The agency did not announce the change on the record, and the sources described it as temporary.

Tom Homan, the White House border czar, called the measure "a temporary pause" and "not a policy change," and said ICE planned to expand body-camera use and retrain officers on how they conduct vehicle stops.

The pause followed two fatal shootings within a week. According to the Department of Homeland Security, neither man killed was the target of the operation.

The two shootings

On July 7, an ICE officer fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, during a traffic stop in Houston. His family said he had lived in the United States for about 35 years and was seeking a work permit. A source told CNN he was not the target of the operation, which ICE had described as targeted.

On July 13, an ICE officer fatally shot Joan Sebastian Guerrero, 25, a Colombian national, as he drove from the scene of an operation in Biddeford, Maine. The office of Sen. Angus King said Guerrero was not the subject of the arrest warrant ICE was serving. The Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition said he was authorized to work in the United States.

The reversal

Trump reversed the suspension on July 15. Senior leaders at ICE and DHS were surprised by the decision, a senior DHS official told NBC News. Trump described vehicle stops as among ICE officers' "most important and effective" tools, according to CNN, which reported that the reversal came roughly 24 hours after agents were told of the pause and after criticism from parts of his political base.

What the stops do

Vehicle stops have been a common ICE tactic under the Trump administration. They let officers identify, follow, and arrest people they are targeting away from homes and workplaces, CBS News reported. With the suspension lifted, officers can resume the practice.

Houston's mayor called for a 90-day pause on ICE operations in the city after Trump backed the stops, KHOU reported.