Trump overturns ICE traffic stop pause after DHS order following recent shootings

President Donald Trump has overturned a temporary pause on traffic stops conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, reversing a directive that was reportedly issued just a day earlier by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote in part, “We CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP! Once we do, we are playing right into the criminals' hands." Former acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan echoed that view Wednesday while speaking with The National News Desk. "When you take that away from your personnel, you're literally handing a victory to the criminals and quite frankly, you're demoralizing the workforce because you're sending a clear message that you don't have trust and confidence in using and carrying out this tool," Morgan said. This week, outlets including ABC News reported Mullin gave the directive to halt traffic stops following multiple ICE-involved shootings. Those incidents include the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican immigrant who was killed in Houston while ICE officers tried to pull over his vehicle. Plus, Sebastian Guerrero, who was killed by an ICE agent in Maine after agents tried to stop the car he was driving. Border czar Tom Homan said Wednesday that vehicle stops will continue. "Look, I've been doing this a long time. Vehicle stops are a main tool for us to do our job and we have to continue that,” Homan told Fox News. After the reversal, Mullin appeared to walk back his decision, writing on social media that he and Trump are aligned. “We want our ICE officers to have all options available to keep them safe while executing our mission of deporting as many illegal alien criminals from our country as possible,” Mullin wrote. In Maine, Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who is looking to defend her seat in November, has been outspoken about the fatal shooting in her state. She posted that she spoke with Mullin this week and urged him to cease all non-urgent traffic stops. Sen. Collins also called on the DHS Inspector General to conduct an independent investigation into Guerrero’s death while coordinating with Maine state and local law enforcement. "We've had two shootings in a week's time in both Biddeford, Maine and Houston in which serious questions have been raised,” Collins said. Morgan said he believes the actions are politically driven, arguing that politicians should not be contacting cabinet-level officials about law enforcement tactics before investigations are complete. "I think that she is putting pressure in there on the Secretary going forward for votes come midterms,” Morgan said. Federal officials have confirmed that in both fatal shootings, neither victim was the intended target of the ICE operations taking place. Both cases remain under active investigation by multiple federal, state and local agencies. READ MORE: https://13wham.com/news/nation-world/... _______________ Stay up to date with our social media: 13 WHAM on Facebook:   / 13wham   13 WHAM on Twitter:   / 13wham   13WHAM on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/13whamtv/?h... 13WHAM on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@13wham?lang=en 13 WHAM Daily Local News Digest:    • 13WHAM Local News Digest   For more information, visit https://13wham.com/ Have a news tip? Send it directly to us: Email us: [email protected] Call the Newsroom: (585) 334-8700 WHAM is a NY based station and a ABC Television affiliate owned and operated by Deerfield Media, Inc and receives certain services from an affiliation of Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country today. #13WHAM #News #Rochester #NewYork