‘I’m Happy’: Agents Celebrate After Trump Reverses Controversial ICE Order

After just one day of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ordering officers to temporarily stop making traffic stops, President Donald Trump said he’d like them to resume, and federal immigration officers are cheering on his push.

The pause on vehicle stops came in the wake of two fatal shootings of migrants by ICE officers in Houston and Maine. ICE said the Houston shooting involved a Mexican illegal immigrant who “weaponized” his vehicle against ICE officers. In the Biddeford, Maine, case, an officer fatally shot a Colombian man who “attempted to flee the scene” of a traffic stop.

Both incidents are under investigation.

Meanwhile, Trump came out in opposition to the halt, writing on Truth Social Wednesday morning that the move meant ICE was caving to criminals and anti-ICE 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.”

Multiple ICE sources told The Daily Wire they have already had difficulties making arrests under the latest pause and are ready to start pulling over vehicles again.

“I’m happy,” one source said in response to Trump’s post.

“Hopefully they let us stop soon,” the source said, adding that it was “a lot harder” to make arrests under the pause.

Sources also questioned whether Trump was consulted before the pause was ordered.

“Not sure how they don’t consult Trump about this before they send out guidance to every field office,” one source said.

On Tuesday, Trump’s border czar Tom Homan credited Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin with making the decision to cease vehicle stops, adding that it wasn’t “a policy change” and just a “temporary pause.”

A White House official told The Daily Wire that Trump had officially overturned the freeze on vehicle stops. Sources within ICE, however, say they’ve yet to receive official orders to resume the tactic.

Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

In response to Trump’s Truth Social post, Mullin said the Department of Homeland Security’s “#1 goal is to keep our officers safe and get criminals OFF our streets,” adding that “Illegal aliens will be arrested and deported wherever they are.”

“If you are here illegally, LEAVE NOW. As our officers carry out operations to enforce our nation’s laws, they are facing a more than 1,300% increase in vehicle attacks,” Mullin said.

“We remind illegal aliens attempting to evade arrest is dangerous. This reckless illegal alien activity comes after sanctuary politicians held webinars and shared resources for how to openly defy ICE,” he added.