U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been ordered not to engage in high-speed car chases and to make vehicle stops only if they have completed specific training, under new internal guidance issued after several drivers were shot in encounters with ICE.
Instead, officers should take down the vehicles’ information for further investigation, according to the memo signed by ICE’s executive associate director Marcos D. A memo sent to officers in ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division and obtained by The Associated Press warned they are not authorized to chase vehicles that fail to pull over under any circumstances. Charles and dated Wednesday. After fatal shootings of drivers in Maine and Texas in July, ICE officers were directed to temporarily pause most vehicle stops. But the next day, Trump went on social media to direct the agency to continue traffic stops, calling them “one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools. ICE has faced intense pressure from the White House to deport more people who are in the country illegally, and its arrests have reached record numbers. The new memo outlines steps intended to improve the safety of vehicle stops for ICE officers, drivers they are targeting, their passengers and the public. All officers on the scenes of vehicle stops must wear and activate their body cameras, under the guidance. In addition, only officers who have completed one of five specific agency training courses can conduct vehicle stops. Similarly, only trained officers can use spike strips that deflate tires to prevent drivers from fleeing.
The memo told ICE’s field office directors that they must ensure vehicles used for traffic stops have lights and sirens that let the public know they are law enforcement vehicles when activated. Officers who have not completed the training courses can only participate in vehicle stops “in a support capacity” as passengers and cannot be the drivers of any of the vehicles involved. The guidance says ICE officers can continue to use a controversial technique known as pinning, which is defined as “using a vehicle or physical barrier to trap or stop a car,” but only if they have received special training.
At the same time, the agency’s rapid hiring spree last year resulted in some poorly vetted and trained officers hitting the streets.
