ICE has suspended traffic stops after two recent fatal shootings in a "huge reversal" of its previous policy, CNN immigration correspondent Priscilla Alvarez reported Tuesday.
The move comes after ICE fatally shot two men this week in Biddeford, Maine, and last week in Houston, Texas, both during vehicle stops.
Immigration agents will continue to conduct arrests for undocumented immigrants, but the guidance now tells them to work with partner agencies and local authorities, Alvarez said.
"This, again, is a significant development. Under pressure to ramp up immigration arrests, ICE agents have been frequently leaning on these vehicle stops, something that they really didn't use to do in the past," Alvarez said. "Instead, they would usually do door knocks, going to houses they had been surveilling, but recently we have been seeing an uptick in these vehicle stops."