<p>The Trump administration has reversed a decision regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers' authority to conduct traffic stops, changing course two months after initially imposing a ban. A leaked ICE memo issued on Wednesday and obtained by the Washington Examiner states that previous directives from July and August have been replaced with a new policy that restricts traffic stops to officers who have completed five specific training courses.</p>
<p>Under the new requirements, officers must complete the Fugitive Operations Training Program, Advanced Field Operations Training Program, Basic Immigration Enforcement Training Program, Special Response Team Basic Operator Course, and ICE vehicle training provided by an instructor who graduated from the Vehicle Stop Instructor Training course. New hires who have only completed one training program may be present at traffic stops in a support capacity but are not permitted to drive a vehicle conducting the stop.</p>
<p>The memo specifies that Enforcement and Removal Operations officers are not authorized to engage in vehicle pursuits or PIT maneuvers for vehicles that fail to pull over. Instead, they are instructed to document vehicle information and its direction for further investigation. Officers are allowed to “pin” a vehicle for safety reasons, defined as using a vehicle or physical barrier to stop a car, but only if they have completed the necessary training.</p>
<p>Tire deflation devices may be used to stop a fleeing vehicle if there is a risk to ICE officers, the public, or the fleeing vehicle itself, provided the officers have completed the appropriate training.</p>
<p>In mid-July, a disagreement arose between President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin regarding ICE's ability to conduct traffic stops, particularly following two fatal shootings involving ICE in Texas and Maine. Mullin directed ICE to cease vehicle pursuits, but Trump publicly contradicted this directive, insisting that traffic stops remain a critical tool for ICE.</p>
<p>This latest guidance on traffic stops comes as thousands of new hires are being deployed to the field. The Washington Examiner previously reported that recruits were being placed on the street before completing government background checks in an effort to expedite deportations.</p>
<p>The memo also instructs ICE deportation officers at traffic stops to activate agency-issued body cameras. Following public outcry after the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizen activists in Minneapolis in January, body cameras were deployed to an unspecified number of ICE personnel. However, in recent incidents involving ICE shootings, it has been reported that officers either did not have their body cameras activated or lacked cameras altogether.</p>