Trump defends ICE agents after enforcement surge led to three deaths

President Donald Trump came to the defense of immigration agents whose enforcement surge led to three deaths in the past week, countermanding Tuesday’s suspension of traffic stops that was imposed to contain the damage.

The latest reversal underscored the White House’s bind between delivering on a core campaign promise for mass deportations and the deadly consequences of its enforcement operations, repeating a cycle of escalating arrests and recoiling from the political fallout.

“The men and women of ICE are doing a GREAT job, one that has to be done,” Trump said of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in a social media post on Wednesday morning. “We CANNOT give up one of I.C.E.’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!”

The post marked the president’s first public statement on the shooting deaths of two immigrants at the hands of federal immigration officers in the span of six days. A third person died on Tuesday when he was hit by a truck while fleeing agents in Florida. Trump’s intervention undermined Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who had not addressed the crisis in public, and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who urged Mullin to stop the traffic stops and is facing one of the chamber’s toughest elections in November.

On Tuesday, officials had moved to contain the crisis quietly by directing agents to pause most traffic stops in the latest retrenchment from the administration’s more confrontational enforcement tactics.

Since agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January, administration officials have sought to minimize controversies ahead of November’s midterm elections. But Trump’s base and some advisers objected to the retreat, leading the White House to renew pressure on the Department of Homeland Security to accelerate immigration arrests in recent weeks.

The latest deaths reignited that debate, roiling crucial Senate races and escalating Democratic demands to overhaul domestic immigration enforcement.

Republicans expect Democrats to overreach as public support for border security and deportation remains high. Immigration stands out as a relative strength for Trump as polls show growing dissatisfaction with his handling of the economy and the war in Iran. Still, he and ICE lost ground after the January shootings, underscoring the challenge of energizing hard-line base supporters without repelling Republican-leaning independents.

The White House said the administration’s agenda hasn’t changed, focused on public safety. DHS has said 70 percent of those deported have criminal records, which could not be independently verified. At the same time, officials have emphasized that they view all undocumented immigrants as subject to removal.

“President Trump’s highest priority has always been the deportation of illegal alien criminals who endanger American communities,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said. “Thanks to President Trump’s strong immigration enforcement policies, millions of illegals have left the United States, either through forced deportation or self-deportation, with zero illegals coming through the most secure border in U.S. history for well over a year.”

Trump’s approval rating for his handling of immigration recovered from 38 percent in February, after the shootings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, to 42 percent in June, according to Quinnipiac University’s national poll of registered voters. He entered his second term with 47 percent support on the issue, according to the survey.

Even with 55 percent disapproval, Trump scored better on immigration than the economy, at 59 percent, or Iran, at 62 percent. Overall, 38 percent of voters approved of Trump’s job performance, while 55 percent disapproved.

Business groups have protested raids at jobsites, leading the administration to ease enforcement at farms and hotels. In pursuit of deportation goals, agents have ventured into residential neighborhoods, where arrests have at times gone awry.

The shootings have quickly become an issue in several competitive Democratic primaries, exposing divisions over how far to go on changing immigration enforcement. Republicans plan to use Democrats’ calls to abolish ICE to paint them as extreme, similar to the “defund the police” motto of 2020.

In Maine, the site of the second shooting, hundreds of protesters went to the office of Collins, a Republican who faces a tough reelection race. Collins said she urged Mullin to stop nonurgent vehicle stops.

“While the investigation of the Biddeford shooting is not yet complete, it raises sufficient critical questions,” she said. “While it is clear ICE needs to improve its performance, it is important to remember that the work ICE does to protect our country goes far beyond immigration enforcement,” Collins added on X.

Collins’s Democratic opponent is up in the air after nominee Graham Platner withdrew over sexual assault allegations. Leading contenders have joined protests and called for eliminating ICE.

“How many more people must be fatally shot and murdered by ICE agents before we admit it is time for a change?” candidate Nirav Shah said on Monday. Rival Shenna Bellows said, “It’s time to get ICE off our streets.” Troy Jackson posted, “Abolish ICE.”

In the Michigan Democratic Senate primary, moderate Rep. Haley Stevens called the shootings “horrifying and outrageous.” The more progressive candidate, Abdul El-Sayed, responded to the first shooting, on July 9, by calling to “abolish ICE.”

Several Democratic politicians joined that position for the first time. “This cannot be reformed,” Rep. Morgan McGarvey (D-Kentucky) said on social media. Virginia congressional candidate Adam Dunigan said, “You cannot get away with actions like this and continue to exist.”

Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Michigan), who is trying to fend off a primary challenge from democratic socialist Donavan McKinney, posted, “We need to abolish and prosecute these goons.”

While abolishing ICE has become popular among Democrats, the party has also consolidated around supporting tougher border security. In Texas, Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico condemned the July shooting in Houston. On Monday, he announced a border policy including hiring more Border Patrol agents and deploying more surveillance technology.

The Republican candidate, state Attorney General Ken Paxton, responded by accusing Talarico of running away from past votes and positions.

Isaac Arnsdorf and Ted Hesson report for The Washington Post.