U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a nationwide order halting all vehicle pursuits by its officers following two fatal shootings that occurred in Maine and Texas within less than a week. The directive applies to all ICE personnel and is part of an immediate response to incidents in which officers killed two men who were not their original targets for arrest.

The pause on vehicle pursuits is temporary, according to ICE, and there is no scheduled timeline for when the policy might be lifted. The agency stated it is evaluating both incidents to determine what additional training is needed to reduce negative outcomes in future operations.

In both cases, ICE officers initiated vehicle stops that escalated into fatal shootings involving individuals unrelated to the original enforcement objectives. The circumstances surrounding the incidents have prompted calls for accountability and policy review from lawmakers in the affected states.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine called for a formal investigation into the shootings and said she had three conversations with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin about the matter. “I had three conversations with Secretary Mullin yesterday. In the third conversation, we discussed the fact that it would be wise for DHS to have a halt in non-urgent traffic stops until we get this straightened out,” Collins said.

Collins emphasized that while the full facts of the investigations are still emerging, the situation warrants immediate caution. “We still are awaiting the facts of this investigation. We don’t know exactly what happened, but there are sufficient critical questions to justify bringing non-emergency traffic stops to a halt,” she added.

When asked whether ICE agents might be under pressure to increase arrests, Collins said she was not aware of such directives. “I would be concerned if I knew that to be true. But I have not heard that at all,” she said.

Sen. Angus King, Maine’s independent senator, expressed disappointment that the ICE agent involved in the Maine shooting was not wearing a body camera. “There’s no excuse for it,” King said. He also stated that pressure on ICE agents to meet arrest quotas contributed to the Maine shooting, suggesting that operational incentives may have played a role in the escalation.

The temporary suspension of vehicle pursuits by ICE represents a rare nationwide operational shift in response to specific enforcement incidents. The shootings mark at least the 11th fatal encounter involving federal immigration agents since the start of the second Trump administration, according to internal records cited in a UK Times article. The absence of body-worn cameras during these incidents has further intensified scrutiny, with the Department of Homeland Security attributing the lack of equipment to procurement delays caused by “back-to-back Democrat shutdowns,” as cited in a DHS statement referenced by the same outlet.

The policy pause affects ICE operations across all 50 states and raises broader questions about use-of-force protocols, oversight mechanisms, and the role of performance metrics in immigration enforcement. While the agency reviews training protocols, lawmakers continue to press for transparency and accountability as investigations into both shootings proceed.