EXCLUSIVE: ICE Traffic Stops Are Back, But There Are Some Big Changes

After a brief halt on traffic stops, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers received a directive Thursday to resume them, but with new restrictions in place.

Sources familiar with the new orders told The Daily Wire that teams making traffic stops must have at least one officer with a body camera, a teammate with specialized prosecutions training, and an “operational” justification for the stop.

“Basically, it boils down to unless someone has a body-worn camera, no vehicle stops can be made. Since the majority of officers do not have body worn cameras, hardly any stops will be made,” said one agency source.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed concerns that the agency has been slow to distribute body cameras to agents since the officers involved in the latest shootings didn’t appear to be wearing them.

“With respect to body cameras, I know there’s been some questions about that in recent days. Over half of all ICE field offices now do have body cameras and the remainder of the field offices are expected within 60 days,” Leavitt told reporters.

“It’s been a slower rollout than we would have hoped, but that’s because [of] the Democrats’ decision to shut down DHS for several weeks. So, we expect to fully execute on the promise of body cams to all field offices across the country very soon,” she said.

The short suspension on traffic stops came just one day after the latest fatal ICE-involved shooting of a Colombian migrant in Maine on Monday. The order also followed an ICE-involved shooting just days earlier in Houston, where an officer fatally shot a Mexican illegal immigrant.

When the pause began, ICE sources fumed that it would restrict their ability to make arrests.

“Numbers are going down, we can’t do sh*t,” one source said.

By Wednesday morning, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he wanted the suspension to end, saying the change would play into the hands of criminals and Democrats.

“The Open Border Policy of Sleepy Joe Biden allowed 25,000,000 people to pour into our Country, unchecked and unvetted,” the president said. “Many were Criminals, and we have to get them out. In order to do this, we must be strong, tough, and smart, and we CANNOT give up one of I.C.E.’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP! Once we do, we are playing right into the criminal’s hands.”

“The Radical Left Dumocrats would like to see this done, but it won’t happen on my watch. I.C.E., be judicious, fair and smart, and go back and do your very important job,” he said. “Keep those Crime Stat Records coming! Remember, you are loved and respected in America.”

This is a breaking news story that will be further updated with more information.