Trump Overturned DHS Pause of ICE Traffic Stops, White House Official Says

President Donald Trump blocked a Homeland Security directive that would have stopped Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) traffic stops in the wake of two fatal shootings in recent days, a White House official said on July 15.

The official, in a statement to The Epoch Times, confirmed reports that Trump overturned a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy issued after recent ICE-involved shootings in Houston and Maine.

The White House official also confirmed reports that the agency sent an internal memo to ICE offices to suspend traffic stops earlier this week, before it was overturned by the Trump administration.

In a post on Truth Social on July 15, Trump praised ICE agents for doing “a GREAT job” of keeping crime down in the United States, and he said that many illegal immigrants who recently came to the United States were “unchecked and unvetted” criminals.

“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 wrote. “Once we do, we are playing right into the criminal’s hands.”

He also wrote: “I.C.E., be judicious, fair and smart, and go back and do your very important job. Keep those Crime Stat Records coming!”

His comment came after White House border czar Tom Homan told reporters on July 14 that ICE stops would cease and that the policy would be reviewed in light of the two shootings.

“It’s not ​a policy change; it’s a temporary pause,” Homan told ​Fox News Channel.

“This is going ‌to ⁠be a short-term review to make sure ICE agents are safe and doing the right thing.”

He also said that officers will use other means to make arrests.

In response to several Epoch Times questions about Trump’s Truth Social post and ICE’s policies, DHS provided a statement from Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin that his department’s top goal is to keep officers safe and get criminals off the streets. He said that illegal immigrants would be “arrested and deported wherever they are.”

“If you are here illegally, LEAVE NOW,” Mullin said. “We remind illegal aliens attempting to evade arrest is dangerous.”

He also said that vehicle attacks against ICE officers have increased by 1,300 percent.

On July 13, an ICE agent killed a driver from Colombia in the coastal ​Maine town of Biddeford, about 15 miles south of Portland. An ICE officer in Houston on July 7 fatally shot a Mexican national while trying to stop his vehicle. Both were identified as illegal immigrants. 

Some Democrats have criticized ICE in the wake of the shootings. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said that ICE must be abolished and indicated that Democrats would move to stop ICE’s funding.

Reuters contributed to this report.