Trump backs ICE traffic stops after deadly week for immigrants
President Donald Trump has overruled his administration’s day-old decision to halt most Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vehicle stops, a pause prompted by the fatal shootings of two motorists by ICE officers.
Two deaths in a week
Immigration officers fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, a homebuilder from Mexico, during a traffic stop in Houston on July 7. Subsequently, Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 25-year-old Colombian national, was shot to death in his car in Biddeford, Maine, on July 13, after the vehicle “attempted to flee the scene,” according to Homeland Security. Officers, however, had come for someone else in both operations. Neither man carried a weapon and no agent at either scene wore a body camera.
On July 14, a tractor trailer hit and killed a third man, 28, in Florida as he fled immigration and other federal officers. Homeland Security identified him as a Mexican national but has not released his name or immigration status. At least 10 people have died in encounters with immigration agents since the deportation campaign began, at least four of them in vehicles, and policing experts say firing into a moving car is itself dangerous and should almost always be avoided.
Why the stops continue
Trump has made clear that the deaths would not change his approach. In a Truth Social post last Wednesday, he wrote, “We CANNOT give up one of I.C.E.’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!” The White House reversed the suspension the same morning. As we previously reported, ICE is still working toward a self-imposed goal of 2,000 arrests a day, with arrests on the rise in check-ins, traffic stops and court appearances.
The tactic has faced fewer legal limits since last year. The Supreme Court practically allowed racial profiling after it lifted a federal judge’s order that had barred ICE agents from stopping people based primarily on race, language or type of work. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that “apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion” but can be “a ‘relevant factor’ when considered along with other salient factors.”
What this means
Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in dissent that “all Latinos, U.S. citizens or not, who work low-wage jobs are fair game to be seized at any time.” But as we have seen, it’s not just Latinos. Last year, ICE arrested hundreds of South Korean nationals at a Hyundai facility in Georgia, and operations like Midway Blitz (Chicago) and Patriot 2.0 (Boston) occurred in cities with large Asian populations.
Detention is another story. Our latest analysis found that 12 Asian nationals have died in ICE custody since the second Trump administration began. Limited English proficiency can make it harder for Asian detainees to report medical emergencies or understand their legal situations. With one’s appearance counted under Kavanaugh’s standard, roadside stops could reach Asian drivers agents were not looking for.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said state police would investigate the Houston shooting. Hundreds gathered last week to remember Durán Guerrero, and more protests are planned.
This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices.
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