Staff Reports
The fight over border policy and plain enforcement got ugly this week after an ICE operation in Biddeford, Maine ended with a fatal shooting. The Department of Homeland Security paused most vehicle stops while it reviews the case. On Newsmax, Carl Higbie made no apologies for defending ICE and demanding that people here unlawfully be removed. The debate is loud, and it should be louder — but aimed at the right targets.
ICE, enforcement, and the DHS pause
We have to state the facts plainly. An ICE officer shot and killed a man in Biddeford identified in reporting as Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero during an enforcement action. That came days after another deadly encounter involving ICE agents in Houston. In response, Homeland Security paused most vehicle stops while it looks into training, vetting, and use-of-force rules. That is a reasonable safety check. It is not, however, a mandate to stop enforcing immigration law.
Rule of law versus political theater
Too many on the left turned these tragic incidents into an excuse to call the whole system corrupt. That’s easy to do from a safe distance. What they forget: if you tie the hands of officers, you do not make Americans safer. You simply make enforcement harder. President Donald Trump has urged ICE to keep traffic stops going. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin says the department is focused on officer safety while still backing enforcement. Good — we should want both. But safety reviews must not become political theater that gut the mission.
Carl Higbie, Newsmax, and the case for tough enforcement
Carl Higbie’s show put the point bluntly: the country gave the administration a mandate to act, and that means removing people who are here unlawfully. He and others on the right are right to push back on what they see as a left-wing rush to criminalize officers instead of criminals. At the same time, sensible conservatives should not be blind to problems. Reporting shows at least one officer in the Maine case had troubling family-court records. That raises real vetting questions. The answer is clearer rules, faster vetting, better training, and body cameras — not hamstringing operations.
Here’s the bottom line: Americans want law and order, accountability, and a border that respects rules. We can demand all three at once. The DHS review should be thorough and fast. Congress and the administration should push for better vetting, mandatory body cameras, and firm rules on vehicle stops so agents can do their job without fear or politics getting in the way. And to the writers and activists who reflexively side with anyone who opposes enforcement: your virtue-signaling won’t fix the problem. Enforce the law, hold the bad actors accountable, and stop letting politics put public safety on pause.
