Three men died in less than a week during Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) encounters — and in at least one case, agents shot the wrong person.

Story Snapshot

• ICE agents in Maine shot and killed a man who was not the target of their investigation, with no body cameras to verify what happened.
• In Florida, a man died after fleeing an ICE stop and running into traffic on a busy highway.
• The Trump administration briefly paused vehicle stops after the deaths, then reversed course and resumed them within days.
• A former acting ICE director estimates agents have been involved in at least 18 traffic stop shootings under the current enforcement push.

What Happened in Maine and Florida

In Biddeford, Maine, ICE agents shot and killed a man during an enforcement operation. Maine’s Attorney General office reported that surveillance video captured four gunshots and voices telling a man not to exit a white car. Agents say the man drove the vehicle toward them. But Maine Senator Angus King later confirmed the man killed was not the intended target of the ICE investigation at all — a fact that Homeland Security Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen initially got wrong.

In St. Augustine, Florida, four people in a vehicle fled when they encountered ICE agents. One man got out and ran across a busy highway. A semi-truck struck and killed him. The Florida Highway Patrol confirmed the vehicle fled the scene. As of the time of reporting, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had not released an official statement on the incident, despite ICE indicating one was coming. It also remained unclear whether the people in the vehicle had actually violated any immigration laws.

No Cameras, No Answers

The lack of body cameras on the Maine agents is a serious problem. Without that footage, there is no independent way to confirm whether the vehicle was truly used as a weapon or whether deadly force was necessary. The only visual record is a surveillance video that shows the shots fired and officers giving commands — but not enough detail to settle the question. Families, community members, and elected officials are calling for a full investigation, and the evidentiary gaps make that harder.

This is not a new problem for ICE. At least 23 people were killed and 24 others were injured in 59 ICE shootings between 2015 and 2021 alone. In 2025, ICE recorded 32 deaths in its custody — the agency’s deadliest year in over two decades. At least 10 more people have died in ICE custody or during enforcement operations in 2026. A former acting ICE director, John Sandweg, estimated that at least 18 traffic stop shootings have been linked to the current enforcement push.

Policy Whiplash and Overworked Agents

After the three deaths, the Trump administration briefly paused ICE vehicle stops. Then President Trump reversed that decision and ordered them to resume. Reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan noted that authority over ICE policy appears split between senior White House advisers Stephen Miller and Susie Wiles, creating mixed signals for agents in the field. That kind of confusion at the top can translate into dangerous uncertainty on the ground.

President Trump is urging ICE to continue traffic stops despite recent shootings, arguing that suspending them would aid criminals. This comes amid renewed criticism of ICE tactics after several deaths during encounters with federal officers. #ICE #Trump #Immigration pic.twitter.com/aL95aMuIWk

— Webs Network Media (@UncommonCo360) July 17, 2026

Adding to the concern, senior officials told NBC News that ICE agents are working seven days a week with no days off under a directive to arrest 2,000 people daily. Fatigue and stress at that level raise real questions about judgment in high-pressure situations. Whether you support aggressive immigration enforcement or oppose it, most people can agree on one basic principle: when agents are exhausted, operating without cameras, and receiving conflicting orders, the risk of tragic mistakes goes up — and accountability goes down. That is a problem that crosses political lines.

Sources:

youtube.com, ice.gov, theguardian.com, organiser.org