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US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been told to immediately halt most vehicle stops nationwide, following a pair of fatal shootings in Texas and Maine involving ICE agents.
The suspension will apply to most circumstances except cases involving serious criminal targets, according to US media reports citing unnamed law enforcement sources.
It marks a major policy shift for the agency, which has faced criticism in the past year over allegations of excessive use of force and scrutiny over deaths that have occurred during its operations.
The BBC has contacted the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for comment on the new policy.
In the most recent incident, an ICE agent fatally shot a 26-year-old Colombian national during an immigration enforcement operation in Maine.
DHS said the officer, "fearing for public safety", opened fire on the man when he attempted to flee the scene of the operation and after agents tried to stop his vehicle.
The department did not specify the threat he posed.
The shooting took place in Biddeford, Maine, about 24 km (15 miles) south of Portland.
Immigration advocates have said the man, who has not yet been officially named, was authorised to work in the US and had a social security number.
Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition and Presente! Maine called his death "devastating, enraging, and unacceptable" in a joint statement.
Less than a week earlier, another man - a Mexican national who had been living in the US for decades - was shot and killed by an ICE officer in Houston, Texas.
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, was stopped at 07:00 local time (12:00 GMT) while driving to work and was killed shortly afterwards.
DHS said last Thursday the stop was initiated because they saw "a white van with an individual who resembled the target" of an operation. They have said the officer shot in self-defence and that Araujo was not the man ICE was looking for.
Passengers in the van and the victim's family have disputed the department's account and the agency's legal watchdog has opened an investigation into the fatal shooting.
Both shootings in Maine and Texas have been met with protests.
They come after demonstrations took place across the country earlier this year following the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, two 37-year-old US citizens who were both shot and killed by ICE agents in January during raids in Minneapolis.
US President Donald Trump later replaced Kristi Noem as homeland security with Markwayne Mullin, a senator from Oklahoma. Former border patrol chief Gregory Bovino was also replaced soon after.
Trump launched a campaign of mass deportations shortly after his return to the White House, fulfilling a major campaign promise.
At least seven people have been killed in immigration enforcement operations since January 2025, according to Reuters.
