US Law Enforcement Officers Kill Immigrants, Sparking Controversy; ICE Announces Temporary Halt to Traffic Stops

(CNA, Washington, 14th – comprehensive international report) The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has temporarily halted detaining immigrants through traffic stops following two incidents in which agents fatally shot migrants. One of the deceased was a Colombian delivery worker with a valid work permit, prompting strong condemnation from Colombia’s president.

According to the Wall Street Journal and other media outlets, the Department of Homeland Security has instructed ICE officials not to intercept moving vehicles for the purpose of arresting or questioning occupants.

Yesterday, an agent in Maine shot and killed a 26-year-old Colombian man. An ICE spokesperson stated that a vehicle was “attempting to flee the scene,” and due to concerns for public safety, an agent opened fire.

Human rights groups have identified the victim as Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a delivery worker legally authorized to work in the U.S., who lived with his wife and 3-year-old daughter.

Agence France-Presse reported that Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a long-time critic of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies, condemned the incident as “the murder of a Latin American Colombian by the U.S. government.”

Petro wrote on social media platform X: “They killed him because they thought he was a lesser being with no rights.”

Last week, an ICE agent shot and killed 52-year-old Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado during an operation in Texas.

U.S. immigration authorities claimed Salgado “used his vehicle as a weapon, attempting to ram an ICE officer, prompting our agent to fire in self-defense.”

However, eyewitnesses have disputed this account, stating the agent was never directly in front of the vehicle.

ICE, tasked with enforcing Trump-era immigration crackdowns, is facing nationwide backlash over its aggressive tactics, particularly after agents killed two U.S. citizens earlier this year in Minneapolis. (Translation: Li Pei-shan) 1150715