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He makes it clear, that it is not a policy change, but a “short-term review.”
Following fatal shootings by ICE agents, federal immigration authorities have abruptly stopped most of their vehicle intercepts across the United States.
According to Reuters, the federal government paused the operations following incidents in Texas and Maine, where agents shot and killed men who were not the targets of the investigations.
The ICE agents in question were reportedly not wearing bodycams, and no other footage of either shooting has been released.
Tom Homan, the border czar for President Donald Trump, discussed the move during an interview on the Fox News Channel.
“It’s not a policy change; it’s a temporary pause,” Homan explained. He noted that, “This is going to be a short-term review to make sure ICE agents are safe and doing the right thing.”
Tragedy in Maine
The most recent shooting occurred on Monday in Biddeford, Maine. It was sudden. Federal agents were watching a home when they decided to follow a departing car.
The driver, 25-year-old Johan Sebastian Duran from Colombia, was not their target. A GoFundMe page for his family stated that his wife and three-year-old daughter “now face an uncertain future without him.”
He worked two jobs. According to the Portland Press Herald, neighbors heard his crying wife and daughter in the street immediately after the shooting.
Witness Daniel Boucher told Reuters he heard noises like firecrackers. From his window, he saw a white SUV ram a smaller car, and then an officer pull a bloodied Duran out. “I remember hearing the victim say, ‘But I tried to stop,'” Boucher said.
Questions in Texas
Six days before the Maine tragedy, another fatal shooting unfolded in Houston. An agent shot and killed 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national who had lived in the U.S. for more than three decades.
Once again, the victim was not the target of the operation. While ICE claimed Salgado rammed a patrol vehicle, three passengers in his van have disputed that account.
The death toll is rising. Since January 2025, at least seven people have died during immigration enforcement operations.
Meanwhile, local communities are demanding answers. Protests erupted in Maine on Monday, followed by more demonstrations in Boston and Houston on Tuesday.
