President Donald Trump stated that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should continue conducting traffic stops, publicly opposing a new agency policy enacted to halt the practice.
Recent Fatalities
The policy change to stop the maneuvers followed two recent fatal shootings by ICE personnel. On Monday, an ICE officer shot and killed a Colombian driver in Maine. One week prior, an officer shot and killed a motorist in Houston.
On Tuesday, a third compliance-related fatality occurred during an encounter with immigration officers in Florida. Authorities reported that a 28-year-old man died after being struck by a tractor-trailer while fleeing immigration and other federal officers on foot.
Trump argued against suspending the enforcement tactic, writing that to remove criminals who entered the country under the previous administration, ‘we must be strong, tough and smart and we CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!’ Trump added, ‘Once we do, we are playing right into the criminal’s hands.’
Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.
