US ICE officers told to halt arrests of non-criminal immigrants, report

WASHINGTON: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have reportedly been instructed to stop arresting undocumented immigrants who have no criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, according to agency sources cited in US media reports.

The reported directive would represent a change in how some immigration enforcement operations are conducted. Under the guidance, officers could continue arresting immigrants with criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, while people with final deportation orders but no criminal convictions or pending charges would reportedly not be targeted for arrest.

The directive would also end so-called “collateral arrests,” in which immigration agents detain undocumented people they encounter while carrying out an operation targeting another individual.

The reported policy shift comes as the administration of President Donald Trump faces continued scrutiny over its immigration enforcement operations and detention practices.

Some ICE officers reportedly expressed frustration with the change. One agency source suggested the timing could be connected to the approaching US midterm elections, although that claim was not independently established.

“We believe it has something to do with the midterms coming up,” the source was quoted as saying.

Another source predicted that the reported directive would lead to a decline in immigration-related arrests.

The reported development follows an incident in Texas involving an ICE officer and a Venezuelan man. About a week before the reported directive, the officer shot and wounded the man during an attempted traffic stop, according to US media reports citing federal officials.

The officer, who reportedly joined ICE last year after previously working for another federal law enforcement agency, had been issued a body camera but was not wearing it during the incident.

Following the shooting, ICE reminded its officers that body cameras “must” be activated during enforcement activities, according to an internal notice cited by The Washington Post.

Meanwhile, a federal judge ordered Venezuelan national Wilber Rafael Garces Perez to appear at a September 30 hearing, temporarily preventing his deportation.

The reported directive has also raised questions within ICE about its scope and whether senior administration officials were aware of it. One agency source questioned whether Trump knew about the reported change.

The reported instructions have not been presented as a broader end to immigration enforcement. Rather, according to the reports, they would narrow the circumstances under which officers make certain arrests, particularly involving immigrants without criminal convictions or pending criminal charges.

Further details about the directive, including how long it will remain in effect and how widely it will be implemented, were not immediately clear.