White House border official Tom Homan defended the use of unmarked vehicles by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a segment on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” The discussion centered on whether these vehicles displayed emergency lights in an incident where a man in Houston was fatally shot.
Homan argued that unmarked vehicles assist in locating suspects, emphasizing the importance of compliance to avoid such outcomes. He stated, “They’d be alive today if they complied with a stop by federal law enforcement.”
Concerns arose about the unmarked vehicle’s role in the shooting of 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. Salgado’s family claimed he mistook federal agents for robbers.
The family said he thought he was being robbed because it was unmarked, not law enforcement at all.
Homan insisted that ICE vehicles have equipment to identify officers, including emergency lights, claiming, “They activate emergency lights. Blue lights.”
Margaret Brennan, the show’s moderator, questioned this assertion. Public videos did not show emergency lights, and involved officers lacked body cameras. Homan admitted he had not viewed the videos.
He acknowledged possible issues if lights were not activated and highlighted the use of unmarked vehicles by other police departments to locate elusive suspects.
ICE plans to introduce body cameras for officers nationwide. Homan supports this move, believing it will reveal the officers’ perspectives during encounters.
Investigations continue into multiple fatal incidents during recent ICE operations, including in Texas, Maine, and Florida, where unintended targets were involved.
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