Trump’s border czar probes possible vetting failures after ICE shooting

What the report says

Al Jazeera, citing The Associated Press, reported that Trump administration border adviser Tom Homan said federal officials are reviewing the screening of an ICE officer connected to a fatal shooting of a Colombian native in Maine. The officer, identified as Army veteran David Brouillette, is under scrutiny after relatives told AP he had serious mental health issues and a history of violent conduct. Homan said on CNN that if those claims are accurate, the officer should not have passed vetting.

The case has intensified questions about the Department of Homeland Security’s rapid expansion of ICE staffing as President Donald Trump pursues a broad immigration enforcement campaign. Homan said ICE internal affairs is examining the officer’s vetting, and that training is also being reviewed. DHS did not immediately comment to Al Jazeera/AP on the review.

The Maine shooting, along with another deadly immigrant shooting in Houston, has drawn attention from lawmakers in both parties. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin briefly paused vehicle stops after the Maine incident, but Trump quickly directed that they continue, describing them as necessary for immigration arrests and deportations.

Homan said acting ICE director David Venturella has ordered that at least one body camera be used during ICE vehicle stops so encounters are recorded. Lawmakers were told in a closed-door House Homeland Security Committee briefing that ICE had received 56 excessive-force complaints, with 32 cleared, one referred for discipline and others still pending. Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine has also pressed for body-camera use and supported funding for it.