90 percent of the people arrested had no criminal records
In the span of a single week, two men who were not the intended targets of immigration enforcement operations were killed during ICE vehicle stops — one in Maine, one in Texas — prompting a brief agency-wide pause for retraining. Before that pause could take hold, President Trump reversed it via social media, insisting that traffic stops remain indispensable to the administration's deportation mission. The deaths of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a young father from Colombia, and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a man who had quietly built three decades of life in America, have placed the human cost of enforcement tactics in sharp relief against the stated goals of targeting only the most dangerous.
- Two men with no criminal records were killed in six days during ICE vehicle stops — neither was the person agents were actually looking for.
- The agency issued a rare nationwide pause on vehicle stops to allow for retraining, signaling internal acknowledgment that something had gone wrong.
- Within 24 hours, President Trump overrode that pause on Truth Social, framing the reversal as a matter of not surrendering enforcement tools to criminals.
- Lawmakers from Maine — including a Republican senator — demanded a halt to non-urgent stops, while an independent senator warned that federal agencies no longer have the credibility to investigate themselves.
- Data from Maine's own enforcement operations revealed that roughly 90 percent of those arrested over the winter had no criminal history, undercutting the administration's 'worst of the worst' framing.
- The families of both men are left grieving while the question of what, if anything, was learned from these deaths remains publicly unanswered.
On a Wednesday in July, President Trump took to Truth Social to reverse a memo issued just the day before by the Department of Homeland Security — one that had suspended most ICE vehicle stops nationwide to allow officers time for additional training. "Once we do, we are playing right into the criminal's hands," Trump wrote, urging officers nonetheless to be judicious and fair. By afternoon, ICE confirmed that deportation officers could resume stops.
The pause had been triggered by two fatal shootings in six days. In Houston, ICE agents surveilling an address spotted a white van resembling their target's vehicle and initiated a stop. The driver, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national with no criminal record, ignored verbal commands and allegedly attempted to ram an officer, who fired in self-defense. Salgado Araujo had lived in the United States for more than thirty years and was close to receiving a work permit.
Six days later, in Biddeford, Maine, agents watching a separate address attempted to stop a vehicle driven by Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 25-year-old Colombian national. He was not their target. When he attempted to flee, an officer fired. Durán Guerrero died, leaving behind a wife and a three-year-old daughter. His father, speaking from Colombia, asked only for justice.
The deaths drew sharp responses from Maine's senators. Republican Susan Collins urged DHS to halt non-urgent vehicle stops. Independent Angus King called for a fully transparent, independent investigation — explicitly not one run by ICE or the FBI. "The people of Maine are not going to accept an investigation run by the feds," he told CBS News. King also noted that of more than 200 people ICE arrested in Maine over the previous winter, only nineteen had criminal records — meaning nine in ten had none at all.
Border czar Tom Homan framed the pause as a brief operational review, not a change in direction. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, aligning himself publicly with the president, emphasized the goal of deporting 'illegal alien criminals' — language that sat uneasily against the fact that neither man killed had been a criminal target. What the agency had learned, and whether it would change anything, remained an open question.
On a Wednesday morning in July, President Trump posted to Truth Social that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency could not afford to abandon one of its most potent tools: the traffic stop. "Once we do, we are playing right into the criminal's hands," he wrote, though he urged officers to "be judicious, fair and smart." The post was a direct reversal of a memo issued the day before by the Department of Homeland Security, which had instructed ICE agents to suspend most vehicle stops during enforcement operations nationwide, with narrow exceptions for cases involving serious criminal targets.
The suspension had come in response to two fatal shootings in the span of six days—one in Maine, one in Texas—that had shaken the agency and prompted calls from lawmakers for independent investigation. What made these incidents particularly fraught was a single fact: neither of the men killed was the actual target of the enforcement operation that led to their deaths.
On a Monday morning in early July, ICE agents were conducting surveillance on an address in Biddeford, Maine, looking for a specific person with a final removal order. While watching that location, they attempted to stop a vehicle. The driver was Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 25-year-old Colombian national living in the country without authorization. According to the Department of Homeland Security, Durán Guerrero attempted to flee the scene. An officer, fearing for public safety, discharged his weapon. Durán Guerrero died. He left behind a wife and a three-year-old daughter. His father, Omar Duran, told a Colombian news outlet that his son had come to the United States to build a future for his family. "I only ask God that this be resolved in the best way, and that there be justice," Duran said.
Six days earlier, in Houston, a nearly identical scenario had unfolded. ICE officers were surveilling an address looking for a specific target when they observed a white van that resembled the vehicle they were tracking. They initiated a stop. The driver was Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national. The DHS said Salgado Araujo ignored verbal commands and attempted to ram an officer, who fired in self-defense. Salgado Araujo had no criminal record. He had lived in the United States for more than three decades without legal status and was close to obtaining a work permit, according to his family.
These deaths prompted Maine's two senators to respond. Republican Susan Collins said she had urged DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to halt non-urgent vehicle stops. Independent Angus King, who caucuses with Democrats, called for a full and transparent investigation—but not one run by federal agencies. "Unfortunately, the feds don't have the credibility today," King told CBS News. "The people of Maine are not going to accept an investigation that's run by ICE or at the FBI." King also criticized the broader premise of the enforcement operation itself. In Maine alone over the previous winter, ICE had arrested more than 200 people. Nineteen of them had criminal records. That meant 90 percent of those arrested had no criminal history at all.
The temporary pause in vehicle stops was meant to allow Enforcement and Removal Operations officers to receive additional training on vehicle-stop tactics. It did not apply to Homeland Security Investigations, which handles criminal cases. Tom Homan, the Trump administration's border czar, characterized the suspension as a brief pause, not a policy shift. "We want to look at these last couple of incidents," he said on Fox News. "Is there something that could have been done better?" He expressed confidence that ICE was well trained and that the agency would continue moving forward.
But Trump's reversal came swiftly. By Wednesday afternoon, ICE sources confirmed to CBS News that deportation officers could resume vehicle stops. DHS Secretary Mullin wrote on X that he and the president were aligned. "We want our 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 said. The language of that statement—the emphasis on deporting "illegal alien criminals"—stood in tension with the facts on the ground: the two men killed in the recent incidents had not been criminal targets, and one had no criminal record at all. The question of what had actually been learned from the Maine and Texas shootings remained unresolved.
Notable Quotes
I only ask God that this be resolved in the best way, and that there be justice.— Omar Duran, father of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, to Noticias Caracol
Unfortunately, the feds don't have the credibility today. The people of Maine are not going to accept an investigation that's run by ICE or at the FBI.— Senator Angus King, to CBS News
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did the pause happen in the first place if Trump was going to reverse it so quickly?
The pause wasn't Trump's decision—it came from DHS leadership in response to two deaths. They wanted officers to get additional training on how to conduct these stops safely. But Trump saw it as a constraint on enforcement, and he moved to undo it almost immediately.
Both victims were killed during stops, but neither was the actual target. How does that change the picture?
It suggests the stops themselves might be the problem, not just how they're conducted. If officers are stopping people incidentally while surveilling a location, and those incidental stops turn fatal, then the question becomes whether the tactic itself is sound—not just whether officers need better training.
The administration says they're going after "the worst of the worst." What does the data show?
In Maine last winter, ICE arrested over 200 people. Only 19 had criminal records. That's 90 percent with no criminal history. So the rhetoric and the reality don't align. Most of the people being arrested aren't criminals at all.
Why did Senator King specifically ask for an investigation not run by federal agencies?
Because the agencies involved—ICE and the FBI—are the ones whose tactics are being questioned. An internal investigation lacks credibility. King wanted something independent, something the public could actually trust.
What happens now that Trump has reversed the pause?
Vehicle stops resume. Officers have the tool back. But the underlying questions about whether these stops are necessary, whether they're safe, and whether they're actually targeting the people the administration says they are—those questions remain unanswered.