The White House on Thursday confirmed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will continue conducting traffic stops, days after reports surfaced that the tactic had been temporarily halted following two fatal shootings.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that ICE agents are still permitted to perform vehicle stops after two such maneuvers ended in the deaths of two illegal immigrants in recent days.
“Vehicle stops are continuing,” Ms. Leavitt said.
“The president and the Secretary of Homeland Security are on the same page that vehicle stops are a necessary tool ICE agents need in order to continue their deportation campaign of the worst-of-the-worst criminal illegal aliens from our country,” she said.
The announcement comes after multiple outlets reported that ICE had paused most vehicle stops earlier in the week.
ICE agents were told to suspend most traffic stops during enforcement operations nationwide, except in cases involving the most severe criminal circumstances, so officials could review training methods.
The pause followed fatal shootings in Texas and Maine in which the men killed were in the U.S. illegally but not the intended targets of the operations.
Ms. Leavitt also acknowledged that the rollout of body cameras has been slow, but said all ICE field agents are expected to have body cameras within 60 days, laying the blame on Democrats who she said kept DHS shut down for weeks.
“Over half of all ICE field offices now have body cameras, and the remainder of the field offices are expected to have them within 60 days,” she said. “We expect to fully execute on the promise of body cams to all field offices across the country very soon.”
DHS has said outfitting agents with cameras is a top priority, citing a 1,300% increase in assaults against ICE officers and a 3,300% surge in vehicle attacks.
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