ICE Limits Most Vehicle Stops Nationwide but Continues Them for Serious Criminal Targets

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been instructed to end most vehicle stops nationwide, effective immediately. Agents will continue such stops only against the most egregious targets who have serious or violent criminal histories.

The policy shift follows two officer-involved shootings in the week before July 14, 2026. An ICE agent shot and killed a man in Biddeford, Maine, on July 13. Hundreds of protesters later marched past the site.

In Houston, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican citizen present in the country illegally, was shot and killed after authorities said he attempted to ram an ICE officer with his vehicle during a traffic stop. Sen. Angus King said the man killed in Biddeford was not the intended target of the arrest warrant agents were executing.

An ICE spokesperson stated that agents had been conducting targeted surveillance on the last known address of an illegal alien with a final order of removal. The spokesperson added that when agents tried to stop the vehicle, it attempted to flee and an officer fired, fearing for public safety. The driver was struck and later died from his injuries.

Araujo's family has disputed the Houston account and called for release of any available video evidence. DHS said officers involved in the shootings had not been issued body-worn cameras due to back-to-back Democrat shutdowns. Both incidents are under investigation by federal and local authorities.

Another senior ICE source said the restriction will remain temporary until new training on vehicle stops is approved by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and delivered to field agents.