WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump reversed an order issued by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin that had paused ICE vehicle stops. The reversal occurred one day after Mullin directed officers to temporarily halt the stops following fatal shootings by ICE agents in Houston and Maine.

Tension is growing between Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and the White House. A senior Trump administration official and a senior Department of Homeland Security official cited early missteps as a cause for the tension. An administration official stated that Mullin's sudden rule change regarding ICE vehicle stops was "100%" a bad move.

Mullin is four months into his role as Homeland Security Secretary. He previously served as Oklahoma’s Attorney General and was known for his support of aggressive immigration enforcement policies. Mullin also served from 2023 to 2026 as the junior United States senator from Oklahoma. Prior to that, he served from 2013 to 2023 as the U.S. representative for Oklahoma's second congressional district.

The directive to pause vehicle stops followed fatal incidents involving ICE officers. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) called for an independent investigation into the Maine shooting involving Joan Sebastian Durán Guerrero. This call contributed to the pressure on the Trump administration to reverse the pause on vehicle stops.

President Donald Trump has publicly advocated for the use of traffic stops by ICE since at least 2019. He called it a 'vital tool' for immigration enforcement in a tweet that went viral at the time. Historical data shows similar incidents have occurred previously. In 2023, ICE agents killed three individuals during traffic stops, with two of the incidents involving fatal shootings, according to a watchdog report by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General.