Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers across the country were told this weekend to stop all non-criminal arrests, sources told The Daily Telegraph.
Sources who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Daily Telegraph that federal immigration agents may currently only arrest illegal immigrants with criminal convictions or charges. Those who receive final deportation orders but do not have criminal convictions or charges will not be arrested, they said.
The change also ends so-called “collateral arrests,” meaning police who illegally spot criminal targets and others in the country may only detain the targets, sources said.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Trump administration’s major changes to mass deportations come amid growing dissatisfaction with the White House’s handling of illegal immigration. President Donald Trump’s approval rating on immigration is at 43%, down from a high of 48% last summer, according to Fox News.
Several ICE officials expressed dismay at the seemingly sudden change, with one saying it could be an attempt to win public support ahead of the midterm elections.
“We believe it has something to do with the upcoming midterm elections,” one source said. “They are trying to calm things down before the election.”
Another source said: “We will see a drop in arrests.”
The change comes a week after an ICE officer fatally shot an illegal Venezuelan immigrant in Austin last weekend. The officer, a recent ICE hire who had worked in the Border Patrol, was reportedly equipped with a body camera but was not wearing one at the time of the shooting.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis initially said the shooting followed a “small pursuit,” according to NBC News.
Sources said that after the shooting, ICE officers across the country received notices reminding them that they must wear body cameras when making arrests.
He is also working to prove himself after the White House withdrew Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s nominee Lance Schroyer, who had chosen to lead ICE, according to the New York Times.
An ICE source expressed doubts that agency leadership informed Trump before lifting noncriminal arrests. Similar issues arose in July, when two shootings involving ICE officers in Biddeford and Houston, Maine, led Mullin to briefly halt ICE traffic inspections.
After Trump spoke out against the suspensions, he quickly reinstated them.
“I hope Trump finds out about this and ends it,” the source said.