- ICE reported only one disciplinary referral for use-of-force despite fifty-six formal complaints filed since January twenty-twenty-five.
- Fatal July shootings in Texas and Maine prompted a brief pause in non-urgent vehicle stops before reversal.
- Every arrest team must now wear body cameras during vehicle stops to increase accountability and evidence gathering.
One Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer has been referred for discipline over a use-of-force incident since January 2025, Democratic lawmakers said after a closed-door briefing with agency officials on Wednesday, July 22, 2026.
The briefing produced a stark accounting of complaints. ICE has received 56 excessive-force complaints during the period, with 32 cleared, one referred for disciplinary action and 23 still under investigation. No discipline has been handed down in the referred case.
The figures came as the House Homeland Security Committee examined body cameras, vehicle stops and officer training. Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., questioned how an agency with more than 20,000 officers could have so few disciplinary referrals.
Free toolUSCIS Receipt Number Decoder"It just defies belief that an agency of 20,000-plus officers with all of the chaos that we’ve seen over the last year and a half. that no one would be found to have violated use of force with the exception of possibly one person."
Magaziner made the remark after the briefing. The data covers the administration that began in January 2025.
The meeting followed two fatal shootings by ICE officers in one week this month. At least 10 people have died in encounters with immigration agents since the administration began. Separately, shooting incidents involved 22 people, including six who died and three who were U.S. citizens.
Two July shootings put traffic stops at the center of the inquiry
On July 7, ICE officers shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, in Houston, Texas. The Department of Homeland Security alleged that he used his van as a weapon, while witnesses disputed that account. Araujo was not the intended target of the operation.
Six days later, in Biddeford, Maine, ICE officer David Brouillette shot Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in the head after Guerrero tried to flee a traffic stop. Guerrero, 25, also was not the target of the enforcement warrant.
Guerrero was a Colombian national who received work authorization in 2025. He worked two jobs to support his three-year-old daughter.
Araujo had lived in the United States for 35 years and was the father of three U.S. citizens. The shootings prompted protests and calls for independent investigations from nearly 200 members of Congress.
ICE teams now need a body camera during vehicle stops
By late July 2026, every ICE arrest team was required to wear at least one body camera during operations, specifically during vehicle stops. Officials discussed that requirement during the committee briefing.
The department also briefly paused non-urgent vehicle stops to review safety procedures after the July shootings. President Trump criticized the pause on social media on July 16, 2026.
"We CANNOT give up one of I.C.E.’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!"
The pause was effectively reversed within 24 hours of Trump’s comments. Traffic stops remained central to the dispute over officer safety and the use of force.
White House Border Czar Tom Homan had defended body cameras earlier in the week, on July 20, 2026. He said recordings could show the circumstances officers faced.
"I want officers to wear body cameras because I want the American people to see what the officers saw when they took that action. They exonerate more law enforcement than they convict."
DHS says officers receive recurring use-of-force training
The Department of Homeland Security defended its oversight in a statement issued July 22, 2026. The agency said officers who break policy face accountability and described annual training requirements.
"ICE officers who violate the agency’s policies are held accountable, their officers are trained in de-escalation tactics and take an annual refresher course on use of force policies. When faced with dangerous circumstances, DHS law enforcement professionals have used their training to protect themselves, their fellow officers, and the public."
The statement came as Democrats focused on the gap between the number of complaints and the single disciplinary referral. The 23 unresolved cases remain under investigation.
Lawmakers have also demanded that ICE halt removal proceedings against witnesses to the shootings. They say witnesses need to participate in investigations without fear of deportation.
The committee’s briefing placed three operational questions together: how officers record encounters, when they conduct traffic stops and how supervisors review force complaints. The one referred case has not yet produced an actual disciplinary penalty.
