What is a man or woman’s life worth? In the wake of the latest killings by ICE officers of undocumented immigrants with no criminal histories, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Johan Sebastian Guerrero, the enforcement of immigration laws apparently takes priority in the Administration’s eyes. Following DHS Sec. Markwayne Mullin’s ordering ICE to halt most vehicle stops while carrying out operations across the country, President Trump countermanded the order on July 15 saying “We CANNOT give up one of I.C.E.’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!” Once we do, we are playing right into the criminal’s hands.” https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/15/us/politics/trump-ice-traffic-stops.html
What criminals? Being in the US illegally is not even a crime, just an offense. Unlawful presence (such as overstaying a valid visa) is a civil violation under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), not a criminal offense. The Supreme Court reaffirmed this principle in Arizona v. United States, 567 US 387 (2012), noting that “as a general matter, it is not a crime for a removable noncitizen to remain present in the United States.” While an individual unlawfully present is subject to civil enforcement—including detention, deportation, and civil penalties—they cannot be charged with a federal crime solely for their ongoing presence. It should also be noted that illegal entry while a misdemeanor is not a continuing offense and while failure to leave after an order of removal may be a crime, it is nonviolent in nature and not a threat to public safety nor national security.
So is it worth a man or woman’s life to chase their vehicles around with government cars and vans in situations that can and have resulted in deadly encounters? Without the seeming protection of this Administration, federal agents can be criminally prosecuted for excessive force against individuals fleeing after having allegedly committed an offense or violation or minor crime. Under 18 USC §242 Deprivation of Rights under Color of Law, federal agents can be prosecuted for using excessive force under federal civil rights laws with penalties of up to one year in prison for basic violations and where the excessive force results in bodily injury, the penalty can increase to up to 10 years, and if resulting in death, an ICE officer could face life imprisonment or the death penalty. Even where that statute is not used, the different states may use state counterparts or their own criminal codes.
It appears unfortunately clear that this Administration’s priority is to remove undocumented immigrants from the country by any means possible with deadly consequences confined to background noise. It does not appear to seek accountability for the actions of its ICE officers, regardless of how egregious their actions. The excuse mantra is getting old of individuals “weaponizing” their vehicles and trying to run over ICE officers – who have an aversion to wearing body cams. DHS now says that henceforth each ICE team will have at least one agent with a body cam. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-arrest-team-body-camera-dhs-says/ The NYPD and many other police departments demand that all uniformed officers in the field carry a body cam to record their encounters. The ICE limitation speaks to the continuing reluctance of the agency to provide any type of evidence that may lead to the indictment of officers or control of their actions. Border Czar Tom Homan blamed the lack of body cams on the two government shutdowns. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EsiRPte9UvI But that is a disingenuous answer in light of the fact that of the $170 billion in funding DHS received from the Big Beautiful Bill in 2025, approximately $75 billion-not million- was specifically allocated to ICE of which $45 billion was to expand detention facilities and $29.9 billion for enforcement and deportation operations. https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text The BBB legislation was passed before the 2026 shutdowns which were partly occasioned by the fight over whether ICE officers should be required to wear body cams. The ICE $29.9 billion was a lump sum that could be used to purchase items reasonably necessary to carry out its authorized functions and standard law-enforcement equipment such as tactical gear, communication tools, and body worn cameras are recognized as authorized expenses – and there were very few restrictive guardrails or statutory cutouts in that Congress did not mandate body cameras, nor did it prohibit funds from being used to acquire them. Deciding whether to acquire body cams with the money was a purely discretionary decision. ICE was also specifically given $20 million in April 2026 for body cam purchases. Now the Secure America Act passed in June 2026 has added another $38 billion in direct funding to ICE, so there is no budgetary excuse for not immediately purchasing and distributing body cams to all agents. The low priority that the subject has had speaks more to the reluctance of the Administration to have ICE encounters recorded and to have accountability for excessive force. It should be noted that the President of Mexico, Claudia Scheinbaum, is seeking legal remedies after the deaths of so many of her countrymen in the US at the hands of ICE as she acknowledges that her diplomatic notes and other means to temper the harsh immigration enforcement against Mexicans in the US have failed. https://www.tpr.org/border-immigration/2026-07-14/mexico-begins-legal-action-in-u-s-over-deaths-of-nationals-in-ice-custody The ultimate question to ICE officers employing aggressive tactics is – when the music stops, will they be the ones without chairs if the Administration bails on them and they alone face the music? Will they be dependent upon a presidential pardon before President Trump leaves office?