White House says ICE vehicle stops to continue despite deadly encounters

The White House said Thursday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents would continue conducting vehicle stops, with President Donald Trump and Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin in agreement that the tactic is essential.

Asked whether the stops were back on and what the administration was doing to prevent further deaths, White House spokesperson Carolyn Leavitt said that "verbal guidance has been given to all field offices across the country" by the DHS.

"The president and the secretary of Homeland Security are on the same page that vehicle stops are a necessary tool that ICE agents need in order to continue their deportation campaign of the worst of the worst illegal alien criminals from our country," she said.

On body cameras, Leavitt said that "over half of all ICE field offices now do have body cameras," with the rest expected to be equipped "within 60 days."

She added that the administration expects to soon "fully execute on the promise of body cams to all field offices.”

The remarks follow fatal ICE encounters in the states of Maine and Texas within the span of one week, which prompted the agency to briefly suspend most vehicle stops.