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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is "reviewing" its recruitment and training protocols following the deaths of two migrants in Texas and Maine by agent gunfire, the 'border czar,' Tom Homan, stated this Sunday.
The official asserted in an interview with CNN that this review comes after it was revealed that the ICE officer who shot a migrant from Colombia in Maine on July 13 had a violent past, according to his ex-wives, who questioned the federal agency's recruitment process.
"ICE has about 30,000 employees. They all go through a background check process. This is a rare case. But, I insist, the matter is under review. There are several things under review. Training is under review," Homan stated.
Even so, the 'border czar' rejected that ICE had made "mistakes" despite the deaths this month of Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Aurajo on July 7 in Texas, and Colombian national Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero on July 13 in Maine, after being shot by immigration agents.
Additionally, Mexican national Juan Jairo Coronilla Durán died in Florida on July 14 after being struck by a truck while fleeing an ICE operation.
"I wouldn't say, now that we are evaluating some additional training, that mistakes were made. We'll see. Everything is being reviewed. We'll see how things turn out," Homan defended.
As happened in January following operations in Minnesota, the three deaths in recent days have raised demands from the Democratic Party and civil organizations for immigration agents to be required to wear body cameras.
In that regard, Homan recalled that he is in favor of body cameras.
Before these statements, the 'border czar' had expressed on Monday that the migrants who died at the hands of immigration authorities "would be alive" if they had followed the orders of the agents who stopped them.
These events occur amidst a surge in immigration arrests in the United States, which totaled more than 43,000 in June between those of ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which is the highest figure since the start of Donald Trump's second presidency in January 2025.
[Publicidad]